Despite the whizbang location technology that is depicted on TV crime shows, emergency officials more often than not can’t locate 911 callers from their mobile phones. The AP received an advance copy of a study conducted by the Association of Public Safety Officials which shows that despite regulations that require carriers to locate callers within 300 feet 95% of the time, a seven market test of the location system showed failure to meet that standard in each case.
Moreover, despite the location rules, carriers aren’t required to share what information they do have with 911 callers, a growing problem given that 8.4% of all homes are “wireless only” and the number of 911 calls made from mobile phones is mushrooming. At today’s FCC meeting, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will kick off a series of initiatives to tighten requirements regarding location accuracy measurment and to examine how location technology is built into handsets.
Cynthia Brumfield at 9:46 AM|Comments(0)
Blogs We Read
