Getting accurate location information for indoor wireless 911 must be a priority
What is clear is that this is a massive problem that only promises to get worse until addressed, especially because the public perception is that accurate location information is readily available for commercial apps. A logical extension of this is, “If they can find me to push an advertisement to me about a sale in the next aisle, surely they find me if I really need help and call 911.”
Unfortunately, that’s not the case, but it’s a problem that should be able to be resolved in a world that is seeing the proliferation of indoor systems, small cells and the machine-to-machine communications—and funding to upgrade PSAPs to accept the data, when it is available. Such location information will be even more important as we move beyond 911 voice calls and enable PSAPs to receive texts, photos and videos.
Whether the details of the FCC proposal on indoor location accuracy for 911 can be executed is questionable, but there is no debate that the need for such rules is needed; in fact, it is long overdue. Hopefully, this proposal will spark the dialog, research and policy work necessary to help ensure the safety of those accessing the 911 system to get immediate help in times of crisis. Having all the first-responder resources in the world is of little use, if you don’t know where to send them.