Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Union Co. 911 will get wired for cell phones

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2003 02:14:00 -0400

Union Co. 911 will get wired for cell phones
July 2, 2003 11:18am

Pam Tharp
Correspondent
LIBERTY, Ind. - Union County agreed Monday
to buy digital maps and new software that will
allow emergency dispatchers to locate cellular
phone users who dial 911.

The $46,000 cost still must win approval by the
county council, but the cost should be
reimbursed to the county by the Wireless
E911 Advisory Board, 911 director Keith Bias
said.

The advisory board won't meet until October
and the funds might not be available until early
next year, so the county probably will have to
pay the cost upfront, Bias said.

Cash flow is becoming tight because of the lack of property tax collections, but the Union County Board of Commissioners said the money could be borrowed from the economic development income tax fund.
Bias urged commissioners to proceed with the project now because of the uncertainty of the amount of money the wireless board has to award.
"We want to make sure we get in there while there is still money to get," Bias said.
Funding for Phase II is not in question, said Chris Ternet, executive director of the advisory board.
"It's a misconception that's been passed along by a vendor," Ternet said. "The money is there. Each county is eligible for an initial distribution of up to $50,000. Additional distributions might be made based on certain criteria."
Phase II costs will be paid by the wireless board from the 65-cent monthly fee cell phone users pay for 911 service. Phase II technology is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission and offering it is the wireless carriers' responsibility. About half of Indiana's counties now have the mapping applications for wireless 911 calls, Ternet said.
Dispatchers see only cell phone numbers on their 911 screens and the tower location where the call originated, but that doesn't pinpoint a caller's location, Bias said.
With the digital map, dispatchers can locate a caller within a few dozen feet, said Kevin Greene, of WTH Engineering, which will provide the mapping and software.
The county must pay a yearly $3,500 maintenance fee for the technology, which can be paid from 911 funds, Bias said. The county receives $6,300 to $6,800 per month from fees on regular phones and between $100 and $600 a month from wireless calls, based on the number of calls placed in the county.
Union County can't activate the Phase II service until Wayne County also upgrades because it is the lead county in the three counties linked by Verizon technology, Bias said.
Towering connections
Only Verizon and Nextel have cellular towers in Union County.
Union County 911 director Keith Bias, however, said he's promoting the county to other cellular carriersbecause of Brookville Lake.
The reservoir and the hundreds of boaters on the lake with cell phones make it more important that Union County have the new mapping technology as soon as possible, Commissioner Gary Davis said.

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