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Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 in Palm Beach County
Posted by : madler on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 05:38 PM
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Can you find me now? When I call 9-1-1 on my land line telephone the dispatchter knows the telephone number(ANI) that I am calling from and the location of the telephoen(ALI). What will they know when I dial 9-1-1 on my cellular, wireless, or PCS telephone?
As of the summer of 2001, Palm Beach County has completed the implementation of Phase I Wireless E 9-1-1. This means that when you dial 9-1-1 from your wireless phone the dispatcher will see the telephone number that you are calling from. One slight difference is that the telephone number appears in a different location on the display screen. Instead of appearing in the upper left hand corner where the land line phone number appears it is displayed about halfway down the screen as an "ALT" telephone number.
Knowing your location is a little more complicated. Of the seven wireless providers in our area, five are currently providing the callers location in latitude and longitude or Phase II Wireless E 9-1-1. They are able to do this through two basic types of technology. One is a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) computer chip placed within the telephone. This chip uses the telephone antenna to 'see' the satellites and determine its location based on signals from them. This is usually the more accurate method of location but the telephone must be purchased with the GPS chip. The second method is to have the wireless provider's system determine the location based on the signal from nearby towers. This latter system is less accurate but it enables the wireless company to provide location technology to wireless 9-1-1 callers without the GPS chip.
Another issue is the ability of the 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to take the latitude and longitude onto a map. In Palm Beach County there are twenty-four 9-1-1 answering points. Over the last eighteen months many, but not all, of these have been equipped with mapping hardware and software that will take the latitude and longitude and display it on a map to show its location. We hope to complete this phase by the summer of 2004.
Even when all wireless telephone companies transmit the latitude and longitude and all 9-1-1 answering points are appropriately equipped there are still some remaining issues for wireless E 9-1-1. How accurately will my location be on the map? The FCC mandates that you must be within 50 to 100 meters (165 to 330 feet) two thirds of the time. Additionally, the location of the caller is delivered about twenty seconds after the call is received and only after the dispatcher requests an update. And if the caller is in motion, the wireless provider will only transmit the location of the caller when he pressed the 'send' button. If he is traveling at sixty mile an hour he may be half a mile from where he was when he pressed the 'send' button.
In the mean time wireless telephone consumers must be aware of their location when dialing 9-1-1 in the event that the system cannot locate them. When purchasing a new telephone, ask the carrier how they provide location to the 9-1-1 system. If the answer is GPS only, make sure your new phone has a GPS computer chip.
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