E-911 EXPOSED

Ralph Nader was the consumer advocate thorn in the side of the auto industry in the 1960s. Now the wireless industry has Carl Hilliard. Hilliard, a San Diego attorney, helped create the Wireless Consumers Alliance in the late 1990s to push the FCC to accept “strongest signal” completion of wireless 911 calls. The FCC adopted strongest signal rules in 1999 by requiring mobile phones to search for the carrier with the strongest signal to connect emergency calls. Hilliard is known for filing lawsuits against carriers on behalf of consumers who have encountered wireless service coverage gaps when calling 911. Now his group is filing suit against a host of wireless carriers and mobile phone vendors, claiming 33 phones that WCA tested did not meet strongest-signal standards by failing to either connect in 17 seconds or inform the caller that the 911 call had been placed. Because the wireless industry already is reeling from seemingly endless problems associated with E-911 ranging from interconnection fees to technology snafus, it had better settle this one fast. If it doesn't, it may see a flurry of lawsuits and a piece on “60 Minutes” about the man who almost died because he couldn't connect to emergency dispatchers. Just as Nader catapulted auto safety into the public spotlight, Hilliard appears to have the tenacity to do the same now that mobile phones are more numerous than cars on the road.