16 September 1999.
Source: US national newspaper, September 16, 1999
WASHINGTON (AP)-Federal regulators are taking the next steps toward ensuring that cell-phone users who dial 911 automatically give emergency dispatchers an important piece of information: their location.
The action today by the Federal Communications Commission sets the technology standards for cellular companies to follow as they make 911 caller location available in their phones.
Regulators hope that cellular companies will begin providing phones with locator technology within two years. The commission voted 5-0 to set the rules.
"This decision will save lives without question," said FCC Chairman Bill Kennard. In situations such as auto accidents, when a few hours can mean the difference between life and death, knowing the location increases chances that emergency personnel will get to the scene on time, Mr. Kennard said.
Currently, when a person makes a 911 call from a regular wireline phone, say from home or work, the location of the caller will pop up on a screen read by emergency dispatchers. Regulators want to see similar information provided for cellular 911 calls. In 1996, the FCC adopted rules requiring wireless carriers to set up systems by Oct. 1, 2001, that could locate a cellular caller within 410 feet.
Innovations have cropped up since then so cellular companies now have some choices in reaching this goal, Mr. Kennard said. The FCC is trying to lay out the rules carriers must follow, but staying neutral on which technology to select, he said.
One option wireless companies have is to modify their network so they can track their customers. That way, the system could work with the existing 65 million wireless phones nationwide, said Mike Amarosa, vice president of public affairs for The Position Inc., which has opted to develop this kind of technology.
Other carriers are leaning toward building the technology right into the phone handset. The phones then could be pinpointed by the Defense Department's Global Positioning System.
Companies designing the location devices for handsets say it offers greater accuracy and flexibility for advances.
"It lends itself very readily to continual upgrades," said Ellen Kirk, vice president of marketing and strategic planning for SnapTrack Inc., San Jose, Calif.
Such a plan also would require wireless customers either to replace or upgrade the phones they have. For this reason, regulators also must consider how such a system would be phased in.
Some privacy advocates have raised concerns that there exists the potential for
"We operate in a very competitive market. I don't think any carrier would be dumb enough to try and do that," said Michael Altschul, vice president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. Public safety officials say their main concern is to see the safety enhancement make its way to consumers.
"The clear goal is to jump start this process and to see location technology arrive on the scene," said Joe Hanna, president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials.
In other matters, the FCC today:
Decided what pieces of their network Bell companies and other major local phone providers must make available for rivals to lease.
Voted to provide U.S. companies with direct access to the international satellite consortium Intelsat, allowing it to bypass Comsat Corp. for services. The commission also authorized defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to purchase as much as 49% of Comsat.
Largely kept in place its limits on how much spectrum can be licensed by a single wireless carrier within a particular geographic area.