While the mainland United States frets over Phase II, staffing, homeland security and other issues, the 30,000 residents of the island of Saipan in the Pacific Ocean are working on implementing Enhanced 911 service. The island is 12.5 miles long by 5.5 miles wide-- about the size of San Francisco--and is the capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a self-governing region under the United States flag.

The island is now grappling with an addressing project that will pave the way for E911. They hope to suppor the cost of the system through surcharges, but funding sources are still tentative. The island's government is working with Verizon, the only local exchange carrier serving the region, to come up with design concepts.