Dangerous Trend: Fewer 911 Calls With Location Data

Statistics gathered by a California public safety group show that the state’s cellular carriers are delivering fewer 911 calls with full location information, delaying responses and putting the public at risk. Now the California chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (CAL-NENA) is calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take action by forcing the carriers to meet existing regulations on delivering accurate locations for all cellular phones that have dialed 911. According to data collected by CAL-NENA, less than 45 percent of the 1.6 million wireless 911 calls made within the state during March 2013 were accompanied by Phase II data, the location of the caller. Instead, carriers delivered Phase I data, which is the location of the receiving antenna tower, a less useful piece of information for someone who needs help. In fact, data independently collected by CAL-NENA from five jurisdictions shows that Sprint delivers Phase II data for just 19 percent of the 911 calls it handles. Verizon Wireless performs the best, but still only provides Phase II for 57 percent of calls for the selected agencies. FCC regulations require cellular carriers to deliver the caller’s location for every 911 call, if the handling comm center is equipped to handle the data and has made a formal request of the carrier. With rare exceptions, every comm center in California is equipped and has made such a request. In a CAL-NENA letter to the FCC, chapter president Danita Crombach noted that assisted global positioning system (A-GPS) technology may be a factor in the declining number. However, the exact cause of the declining delivery of Phase II data has not been explained by the carriers, the state’s 911 agency or the FCC.

In her letter to the FCC, Crombach explained that two years ago she noticed a “significant decrease” in Phase II delivery at the Ventura County Sheriff’s office, where she is communications manager. Fewer than half of each day’s 911 calls were being delivered with Phase II location information, she said. “This is a serious public safety concern and a significant stress on our public safety assets,” she wrote the FCC.

Crombach later confirmed her suspicions of fewer Phase II calls with the state’s 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Division. She then reached out to colleagues at four other California comm centers to quantify the problem, and received call logs in return. She had the data analyzed and graphed, and the four-year declining trend was clear.

Ironically, the 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Division does not release 911 call data. As a result, neither CAL-NENA or anyone else can verify how many Phase II calls are being delivered—or not—to public safety answering points (PSAP) statewide. However, Crombach believes that the state’s 911 officials and cellular carriers are aware of the decline and have communicated about it.

The 911 call graphs show that AT&T Wireless delivered Phase II data for 92 percent of calls in early 2008. However, by the end of 2012, AT&t’s number had dipped to just 31 percent. Both T-Mobile and MetroPCS have also delivered fewer Phase II calls over the last four years. Carriers Sprint and Verizon have actually improved their Phase II performance over the years, but still deliver Phase II for less than 40 percent of 911 calls (see graph below).

The overall trend shown by the graphs and the large periodic changes have no obvious explanation. For example, the percentage of Phase II calls decreased dramatically for AT&T and T-Mobile between Feb. and March 2011, but other carriers were unaffected. There are several other up and down percentage spikes for the carriers over the four years.

Crombach concluded her letter to the FCC with a call-to-action. “CAL-NENA urges the FCC to issue all necessary orders to require carriers to deliver accurate Phase II location information with the wireless call, in a timely manner, throughout their communities of service, and correct this problem as a matter of public safety,” Crombach wrote.

In an interview with 911 Dispatch, Crombach noted that Phase II locations were being delivered more reliably four years ago. “Something changed along the way,” she said. “The percentages have gone down, and not just a little bit, but significantly.”

Crombach said, “I’m sure there are many reasons and explanations for why this change took place,” including technical issues. “If we’re at 99 percent and that one percent is because of some technical malfunction, okay. I’ll give you that,” she said. But she noted, “Nobody is coming close to meeting the mark. We’re talking about less than 50 percent, and that’s nowhere near acceptable.”

Crombach made her position clear. “I’m not comfortable setting the bar for anything less than 100 percent.” But she’s also practical when it comes to improving the Phase II numbers. “Let’s get everybody going to 100 percent, and if we find that the carriers simply can’t meet it, then let’s see what’s preventing them from meeting the requirements.”

Download (pdf) the full set of data graphs for more complete information by carrier and PSAP, and Crombach’s letter to the FCC.

This CAL-NENA chart shows the percentage of California wireless 911 calls that were delivered to five select PSAPs with Phase II location information from 2008 to 2012. Only Verizon and Sprint improved over four years. Now, the best percentage (Verizon) is just above half, and the worst (MetroPCS) is fewer than one in five wireless 911 calls. Something occurred in Feb. 2011 that significantly affected the location delivery for both AT&T and T-Mobile.