911 call location a national problem

In August, Speed Matters reported that the California National Emergency Number Association found that “some major cell phone carriers have presided over a serious decline in the location information contained in 911 calls.” In San Francisco, only 20 percent of 911 calls contained accurate information on the caller’s location.

This week, a coalition called Find Me 911 – made up of a broad range of 911 operators and first responders – held a press event outside the FCC at the opening of a Commission workshop on 911 location accuracy.

According to Find Me 911:

“Data recently released by the FCC shows that, in some states and localities, upwards of 2/3 of wireless 9-1-1 calls are delivered to the emergency call center without accurate location data, leaving emergency responders unable to send help to people who cannot tell or do not know their locations.”

This is a serious public safety issue that both regulators and carriers must work to swiftly resolve.

California 911 cell calls lack location info (Speed Matters, Aug. 15, 2013)

Find Me 911 (website)

Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and Emergency Response Orgs Urge FCC to Address Wireless 9-1-1 Crisis (PR Newswire, Nov. 18, 2013)