Apple to utilize RapidSOS to deliver 911 caller-location information to PSAPs
Under FCC rules passed in 2014, wireless carriers are required to provide PSAPs with caller-location information that is accurate within 50 meters 80% of the time by 2021. RapidSOS this year received the results from its participation in Stage 2 testing in the FCC-mandated location testbed that was conducted in late last year, Ekl said.
“It was very encouraging, because it just proved on standardized mechanisms what we had already known from our own field testing—devices with hybrid location from smartphone location services far exceeds what location-accuracy requirements are today and actually exceeds the location-accuracy requirements for 2021,” Ekl said. “The results of our testbed showed that more than 90% of calls were within 50 meters.
“That just shows that it’s time to act. It’s not a viable approach for public safety just to wait until 2021. If there’s location [technology] that’s available today that’s much better and much more accurate, then we just have to do everything we can to get it in front of the call-takers who need it the most.”
The RapidSOS clearinghouse platform also will support vertical—or Z-axis—information when that is available, Ekl said.
“When we get altitude readings from the device, from the application or from any provider or partner that sends us data, we can pass it on to public safety,” Ekl said. “It’s been very interesting to see that evolve. Public safety is still debating how to think about elevation data—there’s all of these ideas about barometric pressure, and nobody really knows what to do with that.
“At the same time, smartphone location services are starting to return an altitude reading in meters. In the near future, it’s been announced by Google that they’re working on floor-level accuracy. That’s just amazing. We have to take advantage of that and give call-takers the best possible data that’s available from the smartphones.
In addition to this week’s iOS 12 announcement with Apple, RapidSOS has conducted pilot programs with devices using the Android operating system that currently are being evaluated by Google, Ekl said.