911 expected to take center stage at the FCC
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911 expected to take center stage at the FCC
Of course, there are other issues facing the 911 sector, and the FCC commissioners mentioned many of them during last week’s meeting. As users continue the technological transition from legacy telephone landline phones to IP-based wirelines and wireless technologies, steps need to be taken to ensure that the IP-based offerings are at least as reliable as the legacy service was, particularly during power outages.
There also is a problem associated with multi-line telephone system (MLTS) technology that is common in office buildings, hotels and other large venues. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai told the story of a 9-year-old girl who tried to call 911 multiple times from a hotel phone as her mother was fatally attacked but never reached a PSAP. The reason: the girl was not aware that she first needed to dial “9” from the phone to get an outside line from the MLTS system before dialing 911. Pai said he is working to help industry address the issue.
Another issue in large buildings and multi-story facilities is the accuracy of location information when an emergency caller dials 911 from a cell phone, which is a common occurrence today. If the caller cannot verbally pinpoint his or her location to the call-taker, first responders can have difficulty finding the emergency.
First, location information from a cell phone inside a building typically is not especially accurate, because satellite technology is not effective indoors, especially in multi-story buildings, because the structure blocks the satellite signal.
Second, FCC rules only require that location information from cell phone provide the longitude and latitude—the so-called XY coordinates—of the caller within 50 meters, which means that the location provided to a PSAP could be in an entirely different building than the actual location of the caller (thankfully, network-based locations technologies tend to be more accurate in urban areas, so there is less dependence on satellite solutions).
Third, even if the XY coordinates provided to a PSAP are exactly accurate, first responders still have to determine what floor the emergency is occurring on in a multi-story building. In a large office building or apartment, this can be a lengthy process when time is precious and seconds can mean the difference between life and death. What first responders want in such situations is a coordinate that indicates the vertical location—known as the Z coordinate—to give them an idea where to find the emergency caller.