After eight months of meetings, debate and discussion, the nation’s wireless carriers and public safety industry groups have reached a consensus agreement to make improvements in locating cellular 911 callers that exceed earlier proposals made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The voluntary agreements will lead to a solution for accurately locating indoor 911 callers, including their vertical location in high-rise buildings. With the increased use of cellular phones, public safety dispatchers say fewer 911 calls arrive with an accurate location, or with no caller location at all. The trend drew the attention of the FCC last year, and in February they formally proposed more strict location accuracy standards for wireless carriers, and encouraged stakeholders to jointly study the problem of wireless locating. In a statement released late Friday, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and National Emergency Number Association (NENA), along with AT&T Wireless, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all praised one another, and noted that future technology will provide public safety dispatchers with a “dispatchable” location, in some cases right to the office or desk of a caller. Specifically, within nine months the carriers will demonstrate a “pre-standards” solution, and then meet certain accuracy standards over the next five years leading to three-meter vertical 911 caller accuracy in 2019. Significantly, the groups also released a “Fact vs. Fiction” chart about improved location technology, disputing claims made over the last year by the Find Me 911 coalition, including that existing technology can accurately locate indoor caller. Last year the wireless carriers reached a similar agreement to deploy text-to-911 features on their networks, and have done so, largely before their own deadline. Download (pdf) the groups’ press release, the “Fact vs. Fiction” chart and other materials released by the groups. Also, download (pdf) APCO’s announcement of the agreement, a press release (pdf) of support from TeleCommunication Systems, Inc., and an APCO story about reaction to the agreement. Update: Less than a week after announcing the agreement, the FCC moved to expedite its 911 location improvement proposals. They formally requested comments (pdf) on the terms of the consensus plan, and whether it is a “reasonable alternative” to the FCC’s own proposals. APCO “applauded” the FCC’s action in a short statement.
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