Today, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, International and the National Emergency Number Association have reached a consensus plan with the major wireless carriers that we will present to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for making significant progress in locating 9-1-1 callers in both indoor and outdoor environments.

To view the full packet of supporting materials, click here.

The wireless companies include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.  CTIA-The Wireless Association was also integral to facilitating the discussions and released a press statement on behalf of all parties.

The general public is increasingly using cell phones to call 9-1-1, including from indoor locations.  These trends require new solutions for 9-1-1 centers and first responders to know the location of the caller, especially when the caller is unable to describe where he or she is.

In February of this year, the FCC took an important and welcomed step to propose new rules for improving 9-1-1 location accuracy for wireless calls made from both outdoor and indoor locations.  In addition to outlining specific benchmarks, the FCC also encouraged public safety, industry, and other stakeholders to work collaboratively to develop alternative proposals for its consideration.

APCO participated in the ensuing public comment period expressing support for the FCC’s proposals, while remaining open to consideration of an alternative, consensus approach that may evolve from discussions with wireless carriers and other stakeholders.

Beginning in April, APCO answered the FCC’s call to begin discussions with NENA and the wireless industry to attempt to develop a consensus that would lead to the best solutions for achieving improved wireless 9-1-1 location accuracy, including indoors.

APCO worked with NENA to identify what would be needed to achieve real gains in location accuracy for the general public seeking emergency assistance, 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points, and first responders.  After numerous meetings over eight months, the signatories have agreed to a consensus plan that is superior to the proposal put forth by the FCC.  There is an accompanying chart that illustrates how the consensus plan well exceeds the FCC’s proposals.

Notable Features of the Consensus Plan:

Leads to a “dispatchable location” – meaning getting to the 9-1-1 caller’s apartment, office, hotel room, classroom, etc., or an accurate set of coordinates for outdoor locations.

• The FCC’s proposal did not include a dispatchable location.  At best, the FCC proposal for indoor location accuracy would require a horizontal accuracy of 50 meters, which could encompass multiple buildings, and “z axis” vertical accuracy of 3 meters, which could encompass multiple floors and would not provide actual above ground level height or building floor number.

Employs an open, transparent, and technology-neutral test bed under real-world conditions that any location technology vendor may use to enable public safety to assess actual performance, utility, and value of location solutions.

• This is markedly different from prior test beds or other test results submitted by location vendors to date that depended upon pre-arranged environments and which were not fully open to public safety professionals and organizations.

Solves the indoor location problem by utilizing a variety of technology-neutral solutions without relying upon the success or unproven promises of any particular vendor.

• Locating a 9-1-1 caller quickly and accurately is vital and should not depend on a single point of failure, such as a single company or solution.

Incorporates commitments from the wireless service providers to reasonable and FCC-enforceable timeframes to deliver effective location solutions that are flexible enough to accommodate advancements in technology, such as Next Generation 9-1-1.

• Further, the consensus plan avoids reliance on technology solutions that would be unable to adapt to future innovations in public safety communications.

Provides for the first time quarterly reports from the carriers to APCO and NENA on live 9-1-1 call data illustrating the performance over time of the variety of location technologies.

APCO International Executive Director Derek Poarch said “APCO is very appreciative of the professionalism and dedication of its partners in achieving a consensus solution that we can all be proud of and that, most importantly, will provide meaningful location information to our nation’s public safety communications professionals and first responders as they daily serve the emergency needs of our citizens.”

APCO International President John Wright explained “It was critical to APCO that the consensus plan be achievable within reasonable timeframes with tiered benchmarks for the wireless service providers that are backed up by enforceable FCC rules.  We look forward to engaging with the FCC and all other stakeholders to implement this consensus plan as quickly as possible.”

While APCO and NENA were able to reach this consensus plan with the significant support of its industry partners, over the entire course of these efforts, there has unfortunately been a sustained effort on the part of certain advocates to spread falsehoods, disinformation and confusion.  These tactics are especially unfortunate given the significant public safety nature of the problems that all other well-intentioned and honorable parties are working hard to solve.  To ensure that the real facts over the FCC’s proposal are made known, this chart debunks the false claims that continue to be made.

To view the full packet of supporting materials, click here.

For questions, contact Jeffrey S. Cohen, Chief Counsel – Law and Policy, APCO International, at [email protected].