911 call locatorPhiladelphia refines area 911 call locator technology
In the Philadelphia area and around much of the country, emergency services and first responders are looking to retool the ways in which cell phone locator technology could allow them to aid individuals, and they are calling for the further cooperation of cell phone providers and the government alike. “If you don’t know where the guy is, you can’t help him,” said Edwin Truitt, the Delaware County [Pennsylvania] Emergency Services director.
In the Philadelphia area and around much of the country, emergency services and first responders are looking to retool the ways in which cell phone locator technology could allow them to aid individuals, and they are calling for the further cooperation of cell phone providers and the government alike.
As EMSWorld reports, officials in the area have faced multiple recent instances — such as a fatal drowning of a Philly teen in Ocean City, N.J.— in which the lack of globally positioned cell phone locator technology hampered rescue efforts, and many are seeking the assistance of more powerful entities to get the technologies on track.
“If you don’t know where the guy is, you can’t help him,” said Edwin Truitt, the Delaware County [Pennsylvania] Emergency Services director.
Truitt and others have submitted data to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which indicate that area dispatchers often do not receive “electronic location estimates” from 911 calls made by mobile phones — increasingly the majority of calls made. The data for Delaware County alone showed that the location was not found for two thirds of all calls.
The wireless industry group CTIA counters that when the information is missing, dispatchers should submit a request for the location. This, however, still does not solve the problem when dealing with second-by-second emergencies.
Cell phone carriers argue that often when the location information is missing, it is still being sent to a central server — which emergency services draw from — but is taking up to thirty seconds to arrive and therefore not showing on the screens.
Unfortunately, much of this is due to the fact that the FCC requires carriers to validate their locator technology in controlled outdoor test conditions, but not in any real-world situation in which a person’s life might be on the line.
Further still, when the technology does work, it often only reveals the locations of the cell tower available.
In February, the FCC proposed rule changes which would require cell carriers to provide the location for emergency calls made indoors, leading to the assumption that quite soon the requirements for the technology will be comprehensive enough that emergency services in Philadelphia and beyond can soon have their wish.
