News
AT&T Completes Testing on Much Anticipated Enhanced 9-11 System
Working with the City of Tulsa, AT&T Mobility, the largest
provider of wireless services in the Tulsa metro area, completed
Phase II wireless compliancy testing of the Enhanced 9-1-1
system. Tulsa's 9-1-1 Center now receives information
necessary to assist in identifying the location of an AT&T
Mobility cellular caller. The long-awaited technology allows
emergency responders to more accurately pinpoint the location of a
wireless caller that is using AT&T Mobility services.
Phase II wireless testing verifies that cellular providers are
able to route wireless 9-1-1 calls to the appropriate emergency
response agency for service.While AT&T Mobility has completed
the testing and has confirmation that calls are routing to the
appropriate agency, other carriers in the area will test the system
over the next 60 days.
As wireless phones became the predominant technology, continuing
to replace land-lines and accounting for 65 percent of all
emergency calls, the FCC past regulations requiring the caller's
latitude and longitude coordinates display on computer screens in
9-1-1 centers. Locally, the coordinates will be used in Tulsa's
9-1-1 Center to map the caller's location within approximately a
one block radius to expedite emergency response.
"We have had the technology in place, AT&T callers can now
be identified on the Enhanced 9-1-1 system, and the remaining
service providers are now on the way to completing the testing to
ensure their calls are routing correctly,"said Mayor Kathy Taylor.
"The enhancement to wireless 9-1-1 technology helps public safety
officers do their job when a caller is unsure of a location, with
obvious benefits to emergency response for the public. We are
excited that AT&T has completed its Phase II testing and we
expect to know in 60 days that all calls on wireless services will
be routed correctly so the caller's location can be found in times
when it is necessary."
Background
As wireless technology evolved, calls from a cellular phone
based in Tulsa were routed to Tulsa's 9-1-1 Center, regardless of
the caller's actual location. As a result a Tulsa resident could be
on vacation in Alaska, witness an accident, call 911 and try to
explain where the accident was to a call-taker back in Tulsa who
had no reference point for that location.
As technology advanced, cellular calls were routed to the 9-1-1
center closest to the tower transmitting the call, which could be
closer, but still many miles from the caller's actual
location. Now, based on the type technology deployed, FCC
Phase II Wireless regulations require providers to route cellular
calls to emergency responders servicing the actual location of the
caller.
Currently, FCC mandates, based on the technology used, only
require that the accuracy be within 50 to 300 meters of the
caller's location 67% of the time. However, by the year 2012, the
regulations mandate that 95% of cellular calls are routed to the
appropriate emergency response agency using the prescribed
distances.
Becky Eubanks, 9-1-1 Training & Development Manager,
said while the FCC mandate is not for 100% accuracy, it is a
significant step toward emergency responder's ability to meet
existing technology.
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