FCC Shouldn’t Rush to Impose Indoor Location Accuracy Rules, Wireless Industry Tells FCC
CTIA made its closing argument at the FCC against proposed standards for indoor location accuracy as part of revised E-911 rules. In February, amid concerns raised by commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly, the FCC proposed revised rules for all 911 calls, including for the first time standards for calls made indoors (CD Feb 21 p1). CTIA and other commenters urged the FCC to wait for a consensus solution to emerge. Comments were due Monday at the FCC in docket 07-114 and most were posted by the FCC Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Any review of the record “shows it is not possible to meet the proposed indoor location accuracy benchmarks within the proposed timetable,” CTIA said. “No verified evidence has been submitted demonstrating that any current technology can meet the location requirements in the timetable proposed by the FCC.” At a minimum, the FCC should allow a “test bed” to examine and validate “the technical feasibility and commercial reasonableness, including scalability, deployability and availability, of location information solutions,” CTIA said (http://bit.ly/1p0H2FI).
The Competitive Carriers Association said the FCC should impose deadlines only after “numerous standardized technologies become commercially available.” CCA agrees with concerns expressed by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that improved location information saves time and lives, it said: “Despite this important goal, however, no viable, commercially available solution currently exists to meet the Commission’s proposed location accuracy requirements in all environments” (http://bit.ly/WfnGTs). Wireless carriers, as they had in the initial comment round, also encouraged the FCC to go slow (CD May 14 p10).
APCO encouraged the FCC to move forward on rules but said they should be based on consensus and provide for “meaningful, universal, verifiable, and enforceable improvements.” Interim improvements proposed by the FCC “will not provide sufficient accuracy in many cases to dispatch emergency personnel to a specific indoor location,” APCO said (http://bit.ly/1qiDOkA).
The Metropolitan Fire Chief Association urged the FCC to move forward quickly to impose new requirements. “Even a few minutes can be the difference between being able to contain a fire to a single room or floor versus contending with a fully involved structure,” the group said (http://bit.ly/1nPXYPQ). “Improvements to indoor location accuracy that speed dispatch and help identify the exact location of a fire or medical emergency can save precious time, which in turn saves property and even lives.”