The Federal Communications Commission took action recently to enhance the public’s ability to contact emergency services during times of crisis and to enable public safety personnel to obtain more accurate information regarding the location of the caller. Specifically, the Commission strengthened the Enhanced 911 (E911) location accuracy rules for wireless carriers and sought comment on improving both 911 availability and E911 location determination for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
E911 technology automatically provides a 911 call operator with the caller’s telephone number and location information from either a landline or a wireless phone. Wireless carriers have historically provided E911 location information by one of two methods: “handset-based,” where location information is generated by GPS or similar technology installed in the caller’s handset, or “network-based,” where location information is generated by triangulating the caller’s wireless signal in relation to nearby cell sites in the carrier’s network.
