Wireless E911: The Commitment to Public Safety
April 2006
Background
The wireless industry is committed to deploying Enhanced 911 location services and recognizes that mobile phones are the most important safety tool since the introduction of 911. As wireless phones have proliferated, so have wireless 911 calls. Wireless users placed more than 230,000 calls daily to 911 during 2004.1 The industry has already spent billions of dollars deploying the service, enabling carriers to route emergency calls to the nearest Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and identify the caller’s location through either network or handset-based methods. Wireless carriers annually collect from wireless consumers more than $1 billion dollars to pay into state and local 911 funds intended to support and upgrade the technical capabilities of the 6,174 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) that exist across the country.2 More >
As of February 2006, only 59 percent of the PSAPs that exist across the country were ready to use the data to local callers sent to them by wireless companies.3 Because PSAP deployment remains inconsistent, consumers have not been able to receive the full benefits of this life saving technology. In the absence of ubiquitous PSAP deployment, carrier deployment of network-based technology is on hold in many places around the nation, and many mobile customers have no incentive to replace their current handset for a similar model with GPS-location capability.
The Problems and Proposed Solutions
Antenna Siting: Without adequate network coverage or capacity, wireless users will frequently experience busy signals, dropped calls and bad connections. Such instances can be especially worrisome when dialing 911 during emergencies. The only way to improve coverage and capacity is to add cell sites, but oftentimes, local jurisdictions either prevent or slow carriers ability to construct critical new cell sites. As the industry navigates the many local and federal antenna-siting requirements, it advocates quick resolution of pending siting applications. Consumers receive better service when carriers can expand coverage and capacity. More >
Wireless E911 Funding: Wireless carriers and customers have stepped up to the plate, investing in networks and contributing to the state and local funds that have been established across the country. In a majority of states, the E911 system is funded specifically by E911 surcharges and not through general tax revenues. Unfortunately, some states have been dipping into their E911 funds to pay for other things – ranging from stopgap patches to cover budget shortfalls. In March 2006, the GAO published results of a survey on the collection and use of funds for wireless enhanced 911 services. Forty-four of fifty states responded to the survey. The GAO found that four states that collected funds for the purposes of wireless E911 implementation made those funds available or used them for purposes unrelated to E911 during 2005.4 Six states and the District of Columbia did not respond to the survey, and the GAO does not know whether these states used E911 funds for unrelated purposes. The wireless industry advocates continued vigilance amongst state legislatures in keeping E911 funds earmarked for E911 purposes.
CTIA will continue to work with PSAPs and the numerous other stakeholders responsible for implementing E911, from system integrators and device manufacturers to state/local legislators and emergency service providers. Effective coordination among these parties is needed to ensure timely deployment of E911 services to as many American consumers as possible.
1 CTIA Wireless Quick Facts.
2 “911 Fast Facts,” National Emergency Number Association, February 2006,
at http://www.nena.org/911_facts/911fastfacts.htm.
3 Ibid.
4 See “States’ Collection and Use of Funds for Wireless Enhanced 911
Services,” GAO-06-388, March 2006, at page 17, at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06338.pdf
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