The long and winding road to wireless E911

As with anything, establishing a wireless E911 solution takes time and patience. Like building a house, where one must start with the foundation before even deciding on the design, Phase I compliance is the foundation upon which Phase II will rest and from which E911 will emerge.

The FCC wants to resolve E911 issues by 2001. So the questions are, which technology will win and who will pay for implementation?

"In the fight about what to put on top of the foundation, we are losing sight of not getting the foundation built," said Ira Barron, vice president of marketing and business development for SCC Communications Corp. "We must build the foundation early on to save lives and protect people. Building the foundation will speed up Phase II."

Phase I, which includes providing the public safety answer point (PSAP) with the closest cell site to the caller, was originally intended for completion by April 1998. But today only 3% of PSAPs have completed Phase I.

"Naturally we must get Phase I deployment before Phase II; it's like a walk before a run type of issue," said Barron. "Phase I is ready for commercial deployment. The sooner it is ubiquitous, the better for cell phone users it will be."

Just two weeks ago, legislation was introduced in the Senate that would make 911 the nation's sole emergency number. The bill, which already passed by the House, was expected to pass by fall. It would also give wireless carriers parity with whatever lawsuit protection each state gives wireline carriers regarding 911 calls that do not go through.

Mike Altschul, vice president and general counsel of the Cellular Tele-communications Industry Association, considers the lack of wireless carrier limitation liability as one of the main roadblocks. "Until it is resolved, it is keeping carriers from making a decision about which technology to use," he said.

The main focus of the CTIA has been to persuade the FCC to identify implementation issues and address issues of cost recovery and technology choices. The CTIA has also sponsored forums to ensure that everyone is aware of the latest advancements regarding E911.

"People have different views as to what they want, from the PSAP to the carrier, etc.," said Altschul. "Uncertainty retards resolution."

In addition to the limited liability factor, cost recovery and the question of which technology to use has held back deployment.

Funding is a major issue with wireless E911 advisory boards, which each state's governor appoints. As part of cost recovery, all wireless subscribers will be charged about 65 cents a month. This will go toward E911 implementation and will be collected by the respective boards. The money would then be divided between the carrier, the PSAP and the local exchange carrier.

"It will be interesting to watch what happens after the boards start collecting the money," said Suzie Craycraft, director of wireless E911 services for Xypoint, a supplier of network-based E911 solutions. "In terms of a deadline, wireless carriers and public safety are slowing down deployment because it is taking so long to evaluate how to distribute the money back to the carrier."

Craycraft worries that some want to skip Phase I completely. But Phase I provides the routing, while Phase II involves putting the location detection technology in place.

"With Phase I deployment, it is not a technical limitation," said Craycraft, regarding the slow process. "It is because the boards are not functioning and carriers are not given the authority to move forward. Technology is not the barrier, it is the political process."

Ken Louden is enmeshed in 911. He is the director of communications for Steuben County, Ind., serves on the Indiana wireless E911 board and has negotiated the legislation for Indiana on the PSAP side with wireless carriers.

In addition, he is the chairman of the state's cost recovery committee. Although 21 out of 92 counties in Indiana have completed Phase I, with Centennial Wireless responsible for nine of the 21 counties, Louden believes more could be done and that LECs are stalling the process.

"The FCC has not stepped up to the plate to police the LECs," said Louden. "They put the mandate out there and walked away from it."

"Many PSAPs could care less about politics," he continued. "They care about answering the 911 call and saving lives." PSAPs are frustrated because funding is predicated on accepting calls, and they can't accept calls because LECs are delaying the project, he said.

Another obstacle adding to the uncertainty is the handset-based technology waiver request, which is pending with the FCC. For Phase II, the waiver would permit carriers to phase in subscribers if they were to choose the handset-based technology. Therefore, one handset is phased in at a time, unlike a network solution, where 100% of the customers reap the benefits immediately.

Ellen Kirk, vice president of marketing and strategic planning for SnapTrack, which offers a handset-based technology, has visited the FCC so many times she has a frequent visitor pass.

"I think we will win this battle based on everything we are hearing," said Kirk. "It is a huge fight, but when you look at recent news, we are close. It is not a level playing field now. We will compete in the marketplace; we want a shot at playing the game."

With differing opinions the hallmark of the E911 debate, it is only fair to consider the opinion of a network-based technology manufacturer.

"To handle location technology by complicating the handset is an unwise decision and a roadblock on the way to public safety," said Oliver Hilsenrath, president and CEO of US Wireless Corp. "The network solution is more mature than the handset solution."

The company has conducted trials in Oakland, Calif., and Billings, Mont.

"Network-based is the way to go because then the responsibility should be on the network not on the handset, and keep handsets as small as possible," he said.

"I have great expectations that E911 is going to give birth to a whole new industry, not just safety orientated, but birth of content," Hilsenrath continued. "Once location capability exists, we will get a lot of content: emergency assistance, directions, [and] location-related advertising."

Currently only five states have begun implementation of Phase I E911, including Colorado, Indiana, Oregon, Alabama, which will deploy by mid-June, and parts of Montana.

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