(March 02, 2014 - Washington, D.C.) The Federal Communications
Commission proposed rules to help emergency responders better locate wireless
callers to 911. The proposed updates to the Commission’s Enhanced 911 (E911)
rules respond to Americans’ increasing use of wireless phones to call 911,
especially from indoors, and take advantage of technological developments that
allow for more accurate location information to be transmitted with 911
calls.
The Commission’s current E911 rules require wireless providers to
automatically transmit information to 911 call centers on the location of
wireless 911 callers within certain parameters for accuracy. These rules, which
were adopted in 1996 and underwent their last major revision in 2010, enable
wireless providers to meet this accuracy standard based solely on the performance
of outdoor wireless 911 calls. However many Americans are replacing
landlines with wireless phones, and calling patterns are changing. For example,
reports indicate that nearly 73 percent of 911 calls in California are made
from wireless phones, and approximately 80 percent of all smartphone use occurs
indoors.
In light of these trends, the Commission today proposed changes to its E911
rules to include indoor location accuracy – particularly location accuracy in
challenging indoor environments such as large multi-story buildings, where
first responders are often unable to determine the floor or even the building
where the 911 call originated. Determining the location of indoor wireless
callers is more challenging than determining an outdoor location, but
innovation and technological developments in this area are making it easier to
locate mobile devices wherever they are.
The Commission proposes in the near term that wireless providers meet
interim location accuracy metrics that would be sufficient to identify the
building for most indoor calls. The Commission also proposes that wireless
providers deliver vertical location information that would enable first
responders to identify the floor level for most calls from multi-story
buildings. In the long term, the Commission seeks to develop more granular
indoor location accuracy standards that would require identification of the
specific room, office, or apartment where a wireless 911 call is made. These
standards would rely on the advancing capabilities of indoor location
technology and increasing deployment of in-building communications
infrastructure.
The Commission also proposed additional steps to strengthen its existing
E911 rules to ensure delivery of more timely, accurate, and actionable location
information for all wireless 911 calls. In addition, the Commission is seeking
comment on whether to revisit its timeframe for replacing its current handset-
and network-based location accuracy standards with a single standard in light
of technological developments.
While seeking comment on its proposals, the Commission also encouraged
industry, the public safety community, and other stakeholders to work collaboratively
to develop alternate proposals for its consideration. The Commission emphasized
that its ultimate objective is that all Americans – whether they are calling
from urban or rural areas, from indoors or outdoors – receive the support they
need in times of emergency.
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