Are all E911 calls created equal?
There’s been something that’s been bothering me for several years now and it continues to blow my mind to this day: why are there a different set of E911 accuracy requirements between GSM and CDMA carriers? Since the ability for our public safety systems to pinpoint our location is equally critical for all, why aren’t all wireless carriers held to the same standard in enabling this service?
For all of you about to point out, I certainly realize that the CDMA carriers’ GPS-focused approach towards E911 Phase II compliance puts them in a better position to deliver higher accuracy. But GSM carriers certainly had the same opportunity to pursue GPS at the time of the mandate and decided instead to pursue a network-based approach (first E-OTD, then U-TDOA) instead – they prioritized breadth of handset coverage over accuracy, since the network-based technologies did not require new handsets to be deployed. So I ask – shouldn’t the accuracy requirements have been regardless of which technology path a carrier decided to take??
The FCC appears to be wising up to this argument slightly, with their recent posturing to address the performance gaps in more challenging environments, such as indoors – where nearly 50% of all E911 calls are actually made. The FCC is starting to hint at pushing for a common set of accuracy requirements across carriers and technologies and we’ll see how far this topic is pushed at the upcoming open meeting on September 11.
