E-911 Rumbles Through 4Q99

Although E-911 Phase II implementation deadlines loom, there's still no clear answer to the nagging question of how carriers will recoup the cost of deploying location-based technologies. But the federal government, from the FCC through Congress, did make some progress in tackling E-911's many unanswered questions, although the answers weren't always palatable. One example: The FCC decided that carriers no longer can use the absence of a cost-recovery mechanism as an excuse for delaying deploying E-911 technologies.

One alternative is market-based cost recovery, via services such as 411, weather, traffic and roadside assistance, which could help defray E-911 costs. For now, carriers and vendors continue to trial E-911 solutions. Highlights over the past few months include:

* Congress passed the Wireless Communications Public Safety Act of 1999 with an eye toward improving emergency services. But critics say it was a sucker punch to consumer rights. The legislation established 911 as the national wireless emergency number and requires the FCC to support states' plans for deploying public-safety answering-point infrastructures. The legislation also gave wireless carriers the same federal liability protection from consequential damages already enjoyed by wireline carriers. The House passed the legislation 424-2, and President Clinton signed the bill into law Oct. 26.

* The FCC ruled that all new handsets sold by carriers be automatic-location-information (ALI)-capable by 2004 so emergency dispatchers can pinpoint a 911 caller's location within a range of 55 to 325 yards. The ruling also gives carriers the option to use a GPS-enabled handset solution.

* The FCC sought public comment on Nokia's proposal that all handsets capable of operating in analog and digital modes use the Automatic A/B Roaming-Intelligent Retry methodology.

* U.S. Wireless successfully completed testing of its service bureau designed to deliver location-based enhanced services such as roadside assistance and 411 in 100 markets by the end of 2003. In addition to meeting all E-911-mandate requirements, the bureau is designed to generate advertising revenues for all involved, including carriers, merchants and, of course, U.S. Wireless.

* BellSouth Cellular announced plans to trial SigmaOne's 5000 AMPS-TDMA, network-based location system. Sigma boasts that the system is designed to locate all analog and digital wireless callers to better than 300 feet without modifying existing handsets. BellSouth Mobility DCS will test SnapTrack's Personal Location System, a GPS- and handset-based solution.

* TIA adopted a new wireless-location-services standard, paving the way for carriers and manufacturers to deploy the CDMA-based wireless-assisted GPS.