The request comes just a week before United Statescarriers have to begin introducing a way for emergencypersonnel to pinpoint, within 100 yards, the locationof a cell phone caller dialing 911. But the systemthat carriers have to begin installing Oct. 1 onlydetermines the position based on longitude andlatitude, not the person's height above sea level.
That will leave a gaping hole for police trying tofind people calling for help inside buildings, notesPulver.com, a wireless industry group that producesthe VON Conferences and publishes reports on thewireless industry.
"The systems are very effective in pinpointing thelocation of 911 callers on the road in openenvironments where high location accuracy can beachieved," Jeff Pulver, Pulver.com chief executive,wrote to the FCC.
"However, only poor accuracy is to be expected foremergency calls coming from the interior of largebuildings, subway stations and other large steel andconcrete structures. Sadly, the need for improvedindoor tracking was clearly demonstratedduring the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, at the NewYork World Trade Center."
An FCC spokesperson was not available Tuesday morningfor comment. Several carriers contacted Tuesdaymorning did not return calls seeking comment.
The request isn't without its own set of problems,sources within Pulver.com concede.
One dilemma is whether there is actuallytechnology available now or in the foreseeable futurethat could make locating a cell phone caller indoorspossible. The Global Positioning System (GPS) could help,say some analysts. In fact, this week, two Europeancompanies, Europlitan Vodafone and SOS Alarm AB, saidthey have developed an alarm for cell phones. A userhits the button and it sends an alarm to a callcenter, which will then use a GPS device to find theperson.
But a Pulver.com source, speaking on condition ofanonymity, said GPS devices don't work very wellindoors. A user would have to be located within a fewfeet of a window to be located, the source said.
In Japan, emergency service personnel using anenhanced form of GPS have been able to locate peopleinside buildings using wireless technology for atleast two years. A 73-year-old man who wandered fromhis home, for example, was located twice insidecrowded, tall structures within three hours.
But this technology requires new infrastructure thatU.S. carriers would have to build, Pulver.comsources said.
Another possible solution would be to adapt Bluetooth,a wireless technology that enables devices tocommunicate at a range of 30 meters. Bluetooth-enabledmobile phones already exist, and will be launched inthe United States next week. But authorities wouldhave to install separate devices on each floor, orevery second floor, of a building that would help themlocate where the Bluetooth device is, according toPulver's letter to the FCC.
It is apparent that the Oct. 1 deadline for theso-called Enhanced 911 or e-911 systems, whichauthorities first demanded in 1996, will pass without anycarrier meeting the FCC requirements. The FCC has notindicated what it intends to do once the deadlinepasses, although it can levy fines of up to $10,000 aday for noncompliance.
Carriers continue to blame the FCC for setting anunattainable timeframe, even after they won a two-yearextension of the 1999 deadline to have the system inplace. Dozens of carriers, including AT&T,Verizon and Sprint, have again asked for delays, mostciting the unavailability of the cell phones needed tomake the system work. The FCC has yet to rule on theirdelay request.
Police also haven't escaped blame. In July, surveysconducted by the Association of Public SafetyCommunication Officials, which represents many of thedispatchers answering the 911 calls, showed that lessthan half of these same police departments, whereone-third of the 911 calls are from cell phones, haveeven asked carriers to provide the system.