https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Commentary Newsletters


Look for Wi-Fi to improve 911 location

Look for Wi-Fi to improve 911 location

RedSky introduced a downloadable smartphone application called My e911, which notifies campus or corporate security with a Google map pinpointing the location of a 911 caller. The solution is a significant step forward for the in-building location of wireless 911 callers. A leap forward would entail expanding this capability beyond a campus environment to other networks and hotspots across a metro area — a scenario I can see occurring.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 21st April 2010

The more I witness the proliferation of Wi-Fi — in enterprise, on college campuses, throughout metro areas and on smartphones — the more I think it will play an integral role in giving public-safety answering points (PSAPs) more detailed information about where mobile callers are than cellular-based location technologies alone can.

Wi-Fi is exploding. AT&T, which holds a vast network of Wi-Fi hotspots in places like Starbucks, reported that customers in 2009 made a record 85.5 million Internet connections via its Wi-Fi network — four times the number of Wi-Fi connections made in 2008. The majority of those connections came from smartphones. Cable operators and other fixed broadband operators are using Wi-Fi as a subscriber acquisition-and-retention tool, offering free Wi-Fi access in hotspots. New York is expected to have extensive Wi-Fi coverage thanks to a roaming deal between cable operators Cablevision, Time Warner and Comcast. Enterprises are retiring their wired telecom equipment in favor of wireless LANs.

Moreover, analysts predict that Wi-Fi will be nearly ubiquitous in mobile phones within four years. ABI Research notes that 140 million handsets were sold with Wi-Fi in them in 2009. The firm predicts 500 million will be sold in 2014.

And companies already are leveraging Wi-Fi and location identification. Yesterday, E911 enterprise vendor RedSky introduced a downloadable smartphone application called My e911 that’s targeted to college and corporate campuses. At the same time an emergency call is routed after a mobile user dials 911, the My e911 app notifies campus or corporate security with a Google map pinpointing the location of the caller.

The downloadable My e911 application can be preconfigured to make campus security the default entity that’s notified whenever a 911 call is made. The app captures the best available location information when the call is placed — using a hierarchy of GPS, then Wi-Fi, and then cell towers — and continually polls for new location information. RedSky also has partnered with WLAN enterprise vendor Aruba Networks to provide voice-over–Wi-Fi callers with 911 capabilities.

RedSky’s solution is a significant step forward for the in-building location of wireless 911 callers. A leap forward would entail expanding this capability beyond a campus environment to other networks and hotspots across a metro area — a scenario I can see occurring. For instance, Skyhook Wireless — which provides a software-centric positioning system that focuses on location applications for mobile applications — can leverage its nationwide database of known Wi-Fi access points to calculate the location of any Wi-Fi-enabled device. In addition, the IEEE is working on new location capabilities for the Wi-Fi standard, including features that will enable devices to query their locations.

With most operators beginning to embrace Wi-Fi — primarily because their customers want it and because it offers a viable way to offload heavy data traffic that is beginning to tax their networks — I wouldn’t be surprised to see them touting Wi-Fi as a way to make 911 more accurate, at least in those metropolitan areas where Wi-Fi is growing and GPS location doesn’t work very well.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Tags: Local Area Commentary Newsletters Networks & Systems Commentary Wireless Networks

Most Recent


  • PSSA asks FCC for FirstNet Authority license at 4.9 GHz, opposes CERCI proposal
    A Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) filing this week reiterates its call for the FCC to award a nationwide license of 4.9 GHz  spectrum to the FirstNet Authority, ignoring a recent coalition filing that asks the commission to approve rules that would let local jurisdictions largely determine how the airwaves are used. Jeff Johnson, executive […]
  • Critical Bluetooth flaw exposes Android, Apple & Linux devices to takeover
    Attackers can exploit a critical Bluetooth security vulnerability that’s been lurking largely unnoticed for years on macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux device platforms. The keystroke injection vulnerability allows an attacker to control the targeted device as if they were attached by a Bluetooth keyboard, performing various functions remotely depending on the endpoint. Tracked as CVE-2023-45866, the flaw exists […]
  • AT&T's $14B open-RAN commitment with Ericsson snubs Nokia
    AT&T said it plans to shift up to 70% of its wireless traffic to an open RAN network architecture by 2026 through a new agreement with vendor Ericsson. AT&T said the value of that new agreement could reach up to $14 billion over five years. The move represents a shift away from Nokia and positions Ericsson as […]
  • LA-RICS celebrates final acceptance of P25 system built by Motorola Solutions
    The Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) announced its final acceptance of its much-anticipated Project 25 (P25) radio system built by Motorola Solutions during a ribbon-cutting ceremony conducted last month. LA-RICS Executive Director Scott Edson (pictured above, cutting the ribbon) said the Los Angeles region has “moved into the 21st Century, when it comes […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • The battle over connected cars drags on
  • UK officials revamp ESN plans again, target Airwave-to-LTE transition for end of 2026
  • PSCR: Dereck Orr highlights features of June 21-24 virtual event
  • FirstNet buildout on pace for March 2023 completion, AT&T official says

Commentary


Things to know about IWCE 2024: The basics 

5th December 2023

Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

  • 1
7th November 2023

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

13th October 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.