Development and deployment of GPS wireless devices for E911 and location based services

The Federal Communications Commission recognized as early as 1994 that the rapid adoption of wireless technology in the USA was destined to put additional strain on emergency dispatch and rescue personnel due to the absence of any location information associated with a wireless handset. Previously, the FCC had gone to considerable effort to ensure that all landline phones were associated with an unambiguous street address, so that rescue personnel could be dispatched efficiently during a 911 call. The FCC was compelled by their duties to establish a mandate for the development of "Automatic Location Identification" (ALI) technology by the wireless industry. This paper outlines a system that requires no changes to the wireless network and can provide a wide range of location capabilities, including precise location solutions with GPS. This system was designed for flexibility, and can be used for both commercial location-based services, as well as E911/PSAP solutions.

Introduction

The FCC's “E911 mandate” is regarded as an “unfunded federal mandate” by the wireless carriers. The carriers are businesses, and thus interested in deploying services that generate additional revenues and additional profits. In the mid 1990s there was no commercially available location technology that would fulfill the E911 requirements, and could be deployed economically be the carriers.