Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wireless Firms to Meet 911 Deadlines

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 20:12:24 -0400

U.S. Wireless Companies Say They Will Meet E911 Deadlines

The U.S. wireless industry will meet Federal Communications Commission
deadlines to provide emergency dispatchers with location information on 911
calls from cell phones. According to Michael Altschul, senior vice president and
general council with CTIA, wireless companies will have made great progress in
providing the technology. However, local emergency dispatch centers still face
major hurdles in their preparations to receive the location data, said the
president of the National Emergency Number Association. Many emergency
call centers don't have the money to upgrade their systems. In some cases,
states have collected funds through 911 surcharges to pay for the upgrades,
however the money was used to solve other budget problems. The FCC on
Tuesday held the first of a series of meetings designed to help facilitate
deployment of wireless E-911 location services across the U.S.

=========================================================

Wireless Firms to Meet 911 Deadlines

Tue Apr 29,10:32 PM ET

By DAVID HO, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Wireless (news - web sites) industry officials said
Tuesday they will meet federal deadlines for providing enhanced 911 service
that lets emergency operators locate cell phone users who call for help.

Cell phone carriers have made great strides rolling out the service in recent
months to thousands of emergency call centers, said Michael Altschul, a
senior vice president and general counsel with the Cellular
Telecommunications & Internet Association.

More details would be announced Thursday, Altschul told a Federal
Communications Commission (news - web sites) gathering of industry and
government officials and public safety workers involved with developing
wireless 911 service.

When someone dials 911 on a traditional phone, emergency operators can
trace the call to a street address. But creating a system for locating cell
phone users who call 911 has been a challenge for wireless companies,
regulators and workers at the nation's more than 7,000 emergency dispatch
centers.

The Federal Communications Commission set deadlines in 1996 for
implementing E911 service. The regulations require wireless companies to
respond to 911 center requests within six months by providing technology
that can locate people by using phone networks or handsets that gather
information from global positioning satellites.

Carriers that choose the handset option must have 95 percent of their
customers' handsets using the technology by the end of 2005.

Altschul said wireless companies are meeting those deadlines.

Despite progress reported by wireless companies, getting enhanced 911
service to every emergency call center in the next few years still faces
"enormous challenges," said John Melcher, president of the National
Emergency Number Association.

"Technology is no longer the issue," he said. "It's really a matter of
coordination and funding."

Melcher's group estimates it will cost more than $8 billion over the next five
years to get E911 everywhere in the nation. He said many local emergency
call centers can't afford upgrades to receive the new location information
because many states have diverted E911 funds to deal with budget
shortfalls.

The FCC (news - web sites) meeting Tuesday was the first of a series
intended to improve E911 coordination between the government, the
wireless industry and public safety officials.

"We are all committed to bringing the benefits of E911 technology to as
many Americans as possible as quickly as practical," FCC Chairman
Michael Powell said.

The FCC has previously provided extensions to wireless carriers who said
they could not meet the deadlines. The agency's commissioners say they
will be more strict in enforcing the deadlines with penalties.

Charles McKee, an attorney with Sprint PCS, said that by July all newly
activated phones from his company should have global positioning
technology.

McKee and other industry officials urged the FCC to avoid imposing
additional requirements while companies are trying to meet the existing
deadlines.

"As we deploy in more and more markets we get better and better at it, but
it is still a new technology," McKee said. "We're going to try our best to do
everything as fast as we can, but please have patience."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030430/ap_on_go_ot/enhanced_911_3

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