Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Yahoo Senators join rural-carrier quest to change E911 accuracy standard

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 07:43:36 -0400

Who are these Yahoo Senators? All of a sudden everyone is an E-911 expert ! E-911
accuracy is CRITICAL in the middle of the woods when visibility is obstructed by
the surrounding morphology. Who said these guys MUST implement network based
solutions? Many carriers are going with handset based solutions (GPS) that are
less taxing on the network.
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Yahoo Senators join rural-carrier quest to change E911 accuracy standard
By HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER
August 28 12:48:00, 2003

WASHINGTON—Rural wireless carriers are different; they use different technology,
and they should not be held to the same accuracy standards for wireless enhanced
911 as their urban counterparts, said six senators recently in a letter to the
Federal Communications Commission.

“The Sept. 1 deadline for Phase II E911 deployment for many wireless carriers is
rapidly approaching, and the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of the FCC’s current
accuracy standards fails to recognize the unique nature of the provision of
wireless services in rural areas. We are requesting forbearance of the accuracy
standard in rural areas, as we believe that E911 deployment in rural communities
is likely to be more symbolic than substantive,” reads the letter. “The urgency of
this matter cannot be overstated. The September deadline triggering enforcement of
E911 accuracy is approaching, yet the requirements may be exceedingly difficult to
meet in many rural communities. Not only do wireless carriers face enforcement
action by the FCC, but potentially, some carriers may face the loss of financing
from their lenders for failure to comply with the commission’s rules. This is a
situation the FCC must rectify.”

The letter was signed by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Craig
Thomas (R-Wyo.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), George Allen (R-Va.) and Tim Johnson
(D-S.D.). It was sent Aug. 1 but only recently made public.
Rural carriers—many of which chose TDMA technology for their digital
networks—cannot meet the compliance requirements using their network-based
solutions because they do not have an urban core to average noncompliance with
compliance.

Network-based solutions must be able to locate the caller within 100 meters 67
percent of the time and within 300 meters 95 percent of the time. Nationwide
carriers take advantage of the averaging component of the law to counteract where
their networks are not as built out. For rural carriers, this is more complicated
because towers have been built along roads in a “string of pearls” fashion, making
triangulation difficult if not impossible.

“The senators have recognized that the FCC’s current ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach
to compliance with the FCC’s current accuracy standards does not fit in rural
America,” said Don Erickson, legislative director for the Organization for the
Promotion and Advancement of Small Telephone Companies.

Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives would require the FCC to
review the accuracy standards for rural carriers within six months. The Senate
bill does not contain this provision.

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