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Emergency
Management Division
State
Enhanced 9-1-1 Program
For Immediate
Release Contact:
Bob Oenning,
1-800-562-6108, ext. 7011
March 1, 2006 1
p.m.
9-1-1
Wireless Caller’s Location Identified
for Emergency
Response
Camp
Murray, WA
– Wireless Phase
II coverage is closer to becoming a reality for all
wireless phone
users in Washington State. Wireless carriers, the counties and local
9-1-1 centers have
invested in technology enhancements to protect wireless callers in
emergencies.
Wireless Phase II allows for a quicker emergency response to your call
for
help.
In 1997 the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established a two-phase plan
to provide
Automatic Number Identification (ANI) and Automatic Location
Identification
(ALI) service on
all wireless phones. This service, known as the enhanced 9-1-1 (E911)
system, has been
available since 1998 on all wireline phones in Washington. Some
wireless phones
had until recently been unable to provide ANI and ALI for 9-1-1 calls.
The FCC ruled that
wireless carriers must provide, based upon request by the Public
Safety Answering
Point (PSAP), both ANI and ALI on all 9-1-1 wireless calls received at
the state’s 63
PSAPs or call centers.
Wireless Phase I
service allows the cell phone’s call back number and the location of the
cell tower from
which the call originated to automatically display at the 9-1-1 call
taker’s
work station. FCC
Phase II orders wireless carriers, also known as cellular phone
service carriers,
to provide more precise location (the longitude and latitude)
information
with location
accuracy up to 300 meters dependent upon location technology when calls
are placed to
9-1-1. Wireless ALI is a critical service since often wireless 9-1-1
callers
are unable to
provide the location from which they are calling or the caller is unable
to
speak.
Deadlines for
provision of Phase II service on wireless phones vary dependent upon
location
technology employed by the wireless carrier. For instance, if the
wireless carrier
is using
network-based Phase II location technology, the wireless carrier must
provide
Phase II
information for 100 percent of the 9-1-1 call center’s coverage area
within 18
months of a valid
request for the service. The FCC requires the Phase II information for
network-based
technology to be accurate within 100 meters for 67 percent of the calls
and within 300
meters for 95 percent of the calls. The Phase II network-based solution
does not require
subscribers to upgrade their handsets.
If the wireless
carrier is using handset-based cell Phase II location technology, the
wireless carrier
must be able to provide Phase II location information within six months
of a valid request
for service. Once a wireless carrier deploys a Phase II handset GPS
solution in your
area, Phase II service is only available for GPS equipped wireless
phones. The Phase
II handset-based solution requires subscribers to have a GPS-enabled
handset. Phones
that are not equipped with a GPS chip will receive Phase I
service only. The
FCC requires the Phase II information for handset-based technology to
be accurate within
50 meters for 67 percent of the calls and within 100 meters for 95
percent of the
calls.
Nine (9) wireless
service providers currently provide cellular coverage in Washington.
They are Air Peak
Communications, Cingular Wireless, Cricket Communications, Inland
Cellular, Rural
Cellular, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile USA, US Cellular and Verizon Wireless.
Before you buy
wireless service, read the fine print so you understand the 9-1-1
capabilities
offered by the carrier. As a public service, cell phone customers may
check
carrier service
capability by accessing the Enhanced 9-1-1 website at:
http://emd.wa.gov/2-e9-1-1/wireless/01-wireless-idx.htm.
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