Find Me 911 coalition makes its case in opposition to cellular carriers’ indoor 911 location proposal

Barnett said he believes carriers want handset-based location technologies in FCC location rules “because their consumers pay for that” when they buy their devices. On the other hand, network-based technologies—such as the ones offered by NextNav, Polaris Wireless and TruePosition—would cost carriers money to implement, he said.

However, if carriers can prove that their technologies will meet the FCC’s guidelines, they would be allowed to implement them under the proposed FCC rules, Barnett said.

“The interesting thing about the proposed rules is that it is absolutely technologically neutral,” he said. “So, they came up with anything—Wi-Fi, GLONASS, or OTDOA—they can do it. They don’t have to use any of the network-based technologies—NextNav or any of those things.”

Ultimately, both network-based and handset-based technologies likely are needed to provide 911 centers with the best location information for indoor 911 calls from cell phones, Barnett said.

“In the future, if you have a 50-meter ground truth and you have a Wi-Fi hit inside that 50 meters, you can bet that’s where that [emergency caller] is,” Barnett said. “That’s actually a step toward dispatchable address. If you don’t have that 50-meter ground truth, that Wi-Fi hit is not really public-safety grade or trustworthy.”

 “It will actually take a combination of technologies. OTDOA will be out there anyway, it will take some network, it will take GPS, and shouldn’t they use the right combination to save lives? If it’s available, why aren’t we using it?”