 WIRELESS
911 SERVICES
The number of 911 calls
placed by people using cellular
phones has more than doubled
since 1995, to over 50 million
a year. Public safety personnel
estimate that about 30% of
the millions of 911 calls
they receive daily are placed
from cellular phones, and
that percentage is growing.
For many Americans, the
ability to call 911 for help
in an emergency is one of
the main reasons they own
a cellular phone. Other wireless
911 calls come from “Good
Samaritans” reporting
traffic accidents, crimes
or other emergencies. Prompt
delivery of these and other
wireless 911 calls to public
safety organizations benefits
the public by promoting safety
of life and property.
Unique Challenges Posed
by Wireless Phones
While cellular phones can
be an important public safety
tool, they also create unique
challenges for public safety
and emergency response personnel
and for wireless service
providers.
A cellular phone is actually
a radio with a transmitter
and a receiver that uses
radio frequencies or channels
-- instead of telephone wire
-- to connect callers. Because
wireless phones are by their
very nature mobile, they
are not associated with one
fixed location or address.
A caller using a wireless
phone could be calling from
anywhere. While the location
of the cell tower used to
carry a 911 call may provide
a very general indication
of the location of the caller,
that information is not usually
specific enough for rescue
personnel to deliver assistance
to the caller quickly.
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) has taken
a number of steps to increase
public safety by encouraging
and coordinating development
of a nationwide, seamless
communications system for
emergency services that includes
the provision of location
information for wireless
911 calls. Because wireless
911 location information
will not be available everywhere
immediately, it is important
for consumers calling 911
from cellular phones to remember
the following:
- Tell the
emergency operator the
location of the emergency
right away.
- Give the
emergency operator your
cellular phone number so
that if the call gets disconnected,
the operator can call you
back.
- If your
cellular phone is not “initialized” (i.e.,
you do not have a contract
for service with a wireless
service provider), and
your emergency call gets
disconnected, you must
call the emergency operator
back because he or she
does not have your telephone
number and cannot contact
you.
- To help
public safety personnel
allocate emergency resources,
learn and use the designated
number in your state for
highway accidents or other
non life-threatening incidents.
Often, states reserve specific
numbers for these types
of incidents. For example, “#77” is
the number used for highway
accidents in Virginia.
The number to call for
non life-threatening incidents
in your state can be found
in the front of your phone
book.
- Refrain
from programming your cellular
phone to automatically
dial 911 when one button,
such as the “9” key,
is pressed. Unintentional
wireless 911 calls, which
often occur when auto-dial
keys are inadvertently
pressed, cause problems
for emergency services
call centers.
- If your
cellular phone came preprogrammed
with the auto-dial 911
feature already turned
on, turn off this feature.
Check your user manual
to find out how.
- Lock your
keypad when you’re
not using your cellular
phone. This action also
prevents accidental calls
to 911.
FCC’s Wireless
911 Initiatives
In addition to other efforts
to promote coordinated emergency
services, the FCC has adopted
wireless 911 rules. These
rules are aimed at improving
the reliability of wireless
911 services and identifying
the location of wireless
911 callers to enable emergency
response personnel to provide
assistance to them much more
quickly. The FCC’s
wireless 911 rules apply
to all cellular licensees,
broadband Personal Communications
Service (PCS) licensees,
and certain Specialized Mobile
Radio (SMR) licensees.
Basic 911 Rules
The FCC's Basic 911 rules:
- Require
wireless carriers to transmit
all 911 calls to a Public
Safety Answering Point
(PSAP), regardless of whether
the caller subscribes to
the carrier's service or
not.
Phase I Enhanced 911
(E911) Rules
The FCC's Phase I E911 rules:
- Require
wireless carriers, within
six months of a valid request
by a PSAP, to provide the
PSAP with the telephone
number of the originator
of a wireless 911 call
and the location of the
cell site or base station
transmitting the call.
Phase II E911 Rules
The FCC's Phase II E911
rules:
- Require
wireless carriers, within
six months of a valid request
by a PSAP, to begin providing
more precise location information
to PSAPs, specifically,
the latitude and longitude
of the caller.
- This information
must meet FCC accuracy
standards - generally,
it must be accurate to
within 50-300 meters (depending
on the type of technology
used).
The FCC's Wireless 911 rules
are being implemented in
stages; they are not all
immediately effective. The
specific conditions and schedules
of Phase I, Phase II, and
the revised schedules for
nationwide carriers are located
on the FCC Web site, www.fcc.gov/911/enhanced.
Information Provided by
the Federal
Communications Commission |
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