A corporate battle is underway for new revenues related to wireless 911 location technology, disguised as a grassroots movement of associations and individuals, and using every social media tool in the Internet’s inventory to promote itself. The Find Me 911 project is billed as an effort of “individuals and organizations” to improve the accuracy of locating indoor cellular 911 calls. However, the project was initially funded by TruePosition Inc., a technology company that sells a wireless location solution, and is being promoted by Prism Public Affairs, a Washington (DC) firm that specializes in “coalition development” for corporate clients trying to influence Congress. The group has just sent a letter (pdf) to members of the U.S. Senate’s Commerce Committee, asking them to raise the question of indoor 911 location accuracy during hearings for Tom Wheeler, nominated for chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The group notes that an estimated 70 percent of 911 calls are now made from cellular phones, and, “at least 50 percent of all wireless calls originate indoors, according to industry estimates.” There are existing technologies to improve cellular locating, the group says, and the FCC should establish standards for indoor accuracy.
Right now, wireless carriers must adhere to certain FCC accuracy requirements when they deliver location information to PSAPs equipped for Phase II E911 service. In general, it requires the caller’s location to be accurate within 50 meters for 67 percent of the wireless phone calls the PSAPs receives, or which a county receives. Under the regulations, there is no difference between indoor and outdoor 911 calls or their required accuracy.
Oddly, the Find Me 911 movement does not say what the indoor accuracy requirement should be, only that the FCC should establish one. “We should not let the desire for (accuracy) perfection stand in the way of providing first responders with the information they need to save more lives right now,” its Web site states. “FCC action would act as a stimulant to innovators and investors to develop these new and improved capabilities and bring them to market.”
The Find Me 911 movement says that it’s, “supported by more than 80,000 individuals and a dozen organizations.” On its Web site, the group says those supporters are, “a wide range of emergency responders, 911 dispatchers and others interested in helping first responders find people facing emergencies have joined together, determined to ensure that the 911 emergency location function works in today’s wireless age.”
Members listed on the Web site include Iron County (Mo.) 911, the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, the International Union of Police Associations / AFL-CIO, Wood County (Wisc.) Dispatch and Lights 4 Love. The 911Lifeline association is also as a coalition member.
The Web site asks people to join its movement and follow its activities on its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The Web site was created in September 2012, and Internet records would typically list the site’s administrative and technical contacts. However, the site was created behind a so-called “proxy,” hiding the actual owner or operator of the site.
The Find Me 911 Web site does not mention who heads the movement. But a press release reveals that Jamie Barnett, Ret. Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy, is Director of the coalition. Barnett is the former chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau from July 2009 to April 2012, He joined the Venable LLP law firm last February, and now heads the firm’s telecommunications group. During his time at the FCC, he handled matters related to the D Block auction, NG911, narrowbanding, and the nationwide public safety broadband network.
The movement’s Facebook account first became active in April 2013 and includes links to various news articles on the topic of 911. The “About” page is the only mention of TruePosition Inc. anywhere in the group’s materials. “Initial funding for the coalition was provided by True Position (sic), a technology provider, whose technology currently works indoors,” the page states.
The YouTube page dates back to May 2013, and now includes three videos featuring “911 dispatchers.” Some of the people are identified, including Craig Larsen, manager of Lewis County (Wash) 9-1-1, and Karl Christian, supervisor at SNOPAC (Wash.) 9-1-1.
The first entries on the group’s Twitter page were posted in January 2013, and only six entries have been made.
Old Technique
The technique of portraying corporate lobbying as a grassroots movement isn’t new, but has been sharply honed over the past decade to use the Internet to both hide its actual backers and gather support from ordinary citizens and non-profit groups. The lobbying method has even acquired its own name—Astroturf lobbying, after the artificial grass product.
In 2006, the First Responders Coalition popped up as a movement to improve public safety communications. Two individual organizers claimed to have formed the group themselves However, the group’s funding was traced to Verizon Wireless, which at the time opposed a plan by Nextel to reconfigure the 800 MHz band. The group was also promoted by a public relations firm that represented Verizon Wireless on various legislative matters. Eventually, the FCC approved Nextel’s rebanding plan, and the coalition disappeared.
In this case, the coalition’s Internet postings have been made without individual names. The group’s public relations firm, Prism Public Affairs, mentions its coalition development and communications activities on its Web site with the headline, “Strength in numbers and in diversity.” The company explains, “Prism builds and manages coalitions as part of a client’s communications strategy. We identify, recruit and coordinate third-party allies to multiply the voices delivering a unified message that supports our client’s strategic objectives.”
Prism’s list of clients includes the Coalition to Save Our GPS, a movement financed by companies opposed to a 2011 proposal by Lightsquared to use certain satellite service frequencies for a terrestrial cellular-type service. The companies claimed that Lightsquared’s plan would create interference with GPS signals, and were fearful the FCC would approve the plan, and require incumbent GPS device makers to update or change their product designs. The FCC eventually rejected the company’s application to use the satellite frequencies because of interference concerns.
As for TruePosition Inc., a database of registered lobbyists shows the company spent $180,000 for contract lobbying expenses during 2012. However, it does not list Prism Public Affairs as the company’s lobbyist. Prism’s entry in the database reveals their last reported lobbying activity was in 2009.
0 comments… add one
You must log in to post a comment. Log in now.