Sprint PCS seeks E911 waiver

Sprint PCS has filed a temporary and limited waiver with the FCC in regards to the E-911 Phase II implementation Oct. 1 deadline but maintains it is on track with the handset requirements.

“Sprint PCS is complying with most of the specifics of the Phase II requirements,” said Charles McKee, the general attorney for Sprint PCS responsible for overseeing the FCC proceeding on Phase II. The carrier expects to meet the handset requirements of selling global positioning system (GPS) handsets by Oct. 1 and having 100% of its new models incorporate GPS technology by December 21, 2002.

“We plan on meeting those important handset deadlines,” McKee said. “But we do need a limited waiver to address network infrastructure issues.”

The primary problem has been the fact that vendor Nortel Networks was unable to deliver the necessary software upgrades, McKee said. He said the requested waiver is temporary, because Sprint PCS has a set schedule of when the fixes will be accomplished.

Sprint PCS also has concerns about the volume of requests from public safety answering points (PSAPs) and their widely scattered nature, McKee said.

“Our responses are triggered by their requests, and implementation has to be done on PSAP request basis,” he said. “We can’t schedule the rollout [of E-911] like other product rollouts. We have to do it on a market-by-market basis.”

To date, Sprint PCS has received 500 PSAP requests.

The carrier has suggested the FCC adopt a gradual rollout schedule, so it can treat requests in a logical order, McKee said.

“The FCC set an aggressive deadline to encourage wireless carriers to deploy services as quickly as possible. Sprint has done its best to meet it and, in some regards, is meeting expectations,” he said. “Realistically, a system this complex is not going to happen on a single day. The deadline, while a useful guidepost, obviously cannot [work] for everyone at the same time.”