WASHINGTON—The Department of Transportation convened a summit to discuss the thorny issue of wireless enhanced 911 service.
“Events of Sept. 11 highlight the need to be able to quickly and precisely locate people when they make 911 calls on cellular phones,” said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Less than 40 percent of the mobile-phone users in the United States are covered by Phase I service—which enables call-back and cell-site information. Phase I was set to be implemented more than four years ago.
The Federal Communications Commission has delayed the deployment of Phase II service, which will provide more exact location information to public-safety answering points.
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association “has long called for many of the same action items that the Wireless E911 Steering Council pledged to focus on. For example, establishing statewide representatives to coordinate E911 implementation will help the wireless industry get the job done,” said CTIA spokeswoman Kim Kuo.
