Subject: [NEXTEL-1] E-911 Bill Introduced Gets Praise from NY Moms

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 02:49:55 -0400

E-911 Bill Introduced Gets Praise from NY Moms

Virginia Badillo and Barbara Dufty, the mothers of two teens whose January
drowning in New York's Long Island Sound led to the introduction of legislation to
improve E-911 services, visited Capital Hill in support of the legislation. The
group of boys had called 911 from a cell phone when their boat began sinking, but
the emergency call could not be traced because technology that traces locations of
wireless callers had not been implemented. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D., N.Y.)
and Sen. Conrad Burns (R., Mont.) last week introduced a bill that would include
$500 million in federal money to upgrade current emergency response systems. The
bill would make sure state legislatures use the money for E-911 services and would
include the establishment of a federal task force to speed the progress of
upgrades. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) president
Tom Wheeler said the legislation would bring "a good dose of coordination and
accountability that has been lacking in the implementation of enhanced 911
services.

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

Mothers of Drowned Teens
Push for New Legislation

Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The mothers of two New York
City teens whose drowning deaths led to calls for
improved 911 service came to the capital to press
for legislation aimed at improving emergency
networks around the country.

Virginia Badillo and Barbara Dufty offered strong
support Thursday for a new bill introduced by Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D., N.Y.) and Sen. Conrad
Burns (R., Mont.), which calls for $500 million in
federal money to help upgrade current response
systems.

Ms. Badillo's and Ms. Dufty's sons, along with two
other teens, were in a rowboat on Long Island
Sound on Jan. 24 when they began sinking in the
frigid waters. Henry Badillo, 17 years old, called
911, saying, "Oh, God, we're gonna die," before the
call disconnected. The four drowned, leading many
public officials to complain that government and
private companies have been slow to implement
technology that would allow 911 call centers to trace
the location of cell phone callers.

The technology, known as Enhanced-911, or e-911,
is currently available only in scattered counties and
cities.

Proponents of the measure, including a wireless
phone company group, argue that many states have
collected millions of dollars in recent years to make
the necessary technological upgrades but have
diverted much of that money into other spending
programs.

The bill, Mr. Burns said, would ensure "state legislatures cannot divert those
monies and use them anywhere else in their budgets."
It would also establish a federal task force designed to speed up the current pace
of e-911 upgrades.

The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, an industry group, offered
strong support Thursday for the measure.
CTIA president Tom Wheeler said in a statement the measure would bring "a good
dose of coordination and accountability that has been lacking in the
implementation of enhanced 911 services."

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB10555085638849400,00.html?

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