Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wireless E911 Makes Slow Progress Across U.S.

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2003 13:55:23 -0400

Wireless E911 Makes Slow Progress Across U.S.

Wireless carriers, landline phone companies and emergency dispatch centers
across the U.S. are making progress in deploying technology that would enable
911 dispatchers to automatically receive location information on calls made from

cell phones. Progress in installing the location capabilities in many markets
has
been hindered by technical problems, lack of adequate funding, and lack of
coordination - problems that are receiving new attention as wireless carriers
face
a fast-approaching deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission,
and local, state and national officials respond to high-profile tragedies that
some
say might have been averted had cell phone location technology been available.
Wireless carriers have selected technologies that can provide the service. In
California, wireless E911 services are being tested in cities such as San
Francisco and Los Angeles. But paying for equipping dispatch centers to receive
the location information poses a problem for many communities across the
country. Many state and local governments imposed surcharges on cell phone
service to raise funds to pay for the dispatch center upgrades, but the money
has often been used for other purposes as communities struggle to close budget
gaps. Landline phone companies have been reluctant to equip their systems to
route the location information to the dispatch centers. They are seeking ways to

recoup the cost of the upgrades, perhaps by charging the wireless carriers or
consumers. Both the U.S. Congress and the FCC are stepping up efforts to
speed the rollout of 911 wireless location services. On April 29, the FCC hosts
the first session of a new E911 coordination initiative designed to help
wireless
carriers, governments, safety officials and landline companies work together
more effectively to make the service available.

Call for help

Hung up by technological glitches, wireless 911 makes small
strides

By Jennifer Davies
STAFF WRITER

April 7, 2003

One-third of all those who purchase a cell phone s ay it is for safety and
security reasons.

But when those same people use their wireless phone to call 911 to report
an emergency, they are essentially invisible to the call-center dispatcher.

Unlike wired phones that flash the caller's address, wireless phones give
no such information, which can make it difficult to find and help the person
on the other end of the phone.

It's a frightening thought considering 50 million, or almost one-third of all
911 calls, are made on wireless phones.

The situation has resulted in numerous tragedies over the years.

In a recent high-profile example, four teen-age boys drowned in January off
Long Island after their boat capsized. A call to a 911 dispatcher was cut off
after 12 seconds, and no one was able to determine the location of the
boys or boat in time.

Such tragedies were supposed to be a thing of the past.

In 1996, the Federal Communications Commission laid out its enhanced
911, or E911, plan to make sure that all wireless 911 calls would be
accurately pinpointed.

But seven years later, most U.S. cell phone subscribers cannot be easily
located by a 911 dispatcher.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as rescue workers
searched for survivors in the World Trade Center rubble, some experts
wondered how much help E911 would have been, with its limited ability to
identify the position of a cell phone within 200 to 300 yards.

In part, wireless 911 capabilities have been slow to materialize because of
the complex nature of the technology and process.

From the wireless carriers to 911 call centers to cell phone equipment
makers and state and federal governments, there is an intense amount of
coordination and cooperation required.

"Part of the reason we are in the state we are in is that everybody is
pointing in the opposite direction and saying 'It's not me,' " said Stephen
Seitz, director of government affairs for the National Emergency Number
Association.

Carriers have been slow to deploy wireless 911 service, and blame the FCC
for mandating a service for which the technology did not exist.

But after a few technological missteps, most carriers have decided on one
of two ways to locate callers.

Wireless carriers such as Verizon and Sprint have decided on a
phone-based technology, called GPS, or global positioning system. These
new phones have a GPS chip made by San Diego-based Qualcomm.

The chip communicates with a complex system of satellites and ground
stations that help calculate an exact position on Earth. Though it provides
more accurate location information than other methods, it also requires that
users buy new phones.

Other carriers such as AT&T Wireless use a network technology that
finds a caller's location by determining the proximity to cell-phone base
stations and triangulating the coordinates.

The location is not as accurate but subscribers don't need to buy a new
phone.

Software and money

Phone technology is not the only issue.

Local 911 call centers, of which there are about 7,000 nationally, also must
have the right kind of software to find those calls. In addition, the local
phone company, such as SBC in California, must also be ready to handle
and direct the new phone traffic.

All of this costs money, which is a burden for both the cash-strapped
carriers and local and state governments, which have been hit hard by the
recent economic downturn.

Jonas Neihardt, Qualcomm's vice president of federal government affairs,
said the mapping software that local 911 call centers need is not something
that can be bought at the neighborhood computer store. It can be
expensive – as much as $10 million for a metropolitan area such as
Manhattan in New York, to $200,000 for a small, rural county.

Over the years, money has been collected through a surcharge on
consumers' phone bills – anywhere from 25 cents to $2 – to pay for those
expenditures.

With most state governments facing severe budget shortfalls, the money
set aside for wireless 911 has been a tempting target for other uses.

In New York, for instance, a 2002 audit found that about $162 million of the
wireless 911 monies had been redirected to other agencies.

In California, within the past year, the Legislature tried to use some of the
$53 million in wireless 911 funds but did not.

Neihardt said such actions were a clear misuse of public funds.

"If that money is being taken and misdirected by the state legislatures to
build roads or whatever, then the public interest isn't being served," he
said.

Another glitch in the rollout of wireless 911 services are the local phone
companies, which must upgrade their phone systems in order to route the
cell phone calls to the right 911 dispatch center.

Many local phone companies want to be able to recoup the money they
spend on upgrades, either by charging the wireless carriers or customers.

That has infuriated wireless carriers, which are spending hundreds of
millions of dollars on the service.

In a letter to the FCC, John Scott, Verizon Wireless' vice president, accused
BellSouth, the phone company that serves much of the Southeast, of
trying to "profit" from wireless 911 service.

Progress made

Despite all the squabbling and problems, wireless 911 service is making
strides.

In California, wireless 911 service is being tested in larger cities. San
Francisco was the first to test the system and Los Angeles is trying out
the wireless 911 capabilities of all major cell-phone carriers.

Next is San Diego, which expects to start testing later this year, said Hanan
Harb, communications and 911 coordinator for San Diego County.

"I'm hoping by the time they get to San Diego, they'll know what they are
doing," she said.

On a national level, wireless 911 service is also making headway. The Long
Island boating tragedy got the attention of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton, who with several other federal lawmakers has taken a lead role in
ensuring that the wireless 911 service is implemented.

In addition, the FCC is spearheading a wireless E911 coordination effort,
and a first meeting is set April 29.

Rochelle Cohen, spokeswoman for AT&T Wireless, said the new emphasis
on coordination is good news for carriers as well as consumers.

"We are heartened by the fact that policy-makers are focusing attention on
the coordination aspect," she said.

In announcing the initiative, FCC Chairman Michael Powell described
wireless E911 deployment as "an urgent priority."

"It is our responsibility to ensure that all wireless consumers have access
to this lifesaving technology," Powell said.

But wireless 911 capabilities are about more than personal safety; it's also
about homeland security, said Seitz of the National Emergency Number
Association.

If a low-flying plane is headed toward an office building, Seitz said, the
average person can't call NORAD, but could call a local 911 center to
report the potential problem.

"Cell phones have become the great eyes and ears of our society," Seitz
said.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/mon/business/news_mz1b6call.html

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