Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Accident Prompts Calls or Action on Wireless E911 in New York

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 16:46:48 -0500

1/28/03

Accident Prompts Calls or Action on Wireless E911 in New York

A boating accident on Long Island Sound has prompted calls for urgent action on
installing technology to track the location of cell phones being used to dial 911 in
emergencies. A 911 dispatcher received a call from a teenager who said the boat
he and three others were in was taking on water. Though police officials admit
that the call was mishandled, the incident drew the attention of federal, state and
local officials to the lack of 911 location technology in New York. Sen. Charles
Schumer (D-N.Y.) and City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. pointed out that $162
million had been raised through surcharges on cell phone service, but state
police had spent much of the money on other things. The state police said that
the funds had not been specifically designated for wireless service. Democrats
Anthony Weiner and Joseph Crowley, who represent Brooklyn and parts of the
Bronx and Queens in the House, said the FCC erred when it ext ended the
deadline from 2001 to 2005 for wireless carriers to add location-sensing
technology to their networks. City officials were criticized for mishandling the
call, and for allocating $25 million to create a 311 system for handling
non-emergency calls, instead of spending the money on adapting dispatch
centers for wireless location technology. Police officials said that if the
technology had been available, the teens still might not have been rescued. It
would have taken 20 minutes to reach them, and a person could survive about 15
minutes in the cold water.

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