REGULATORY (3-10-07)
Ban on cellphones for drivers advances By Elliott Wilson (The Seattle Times 3-10-07)
Pick up the phone and risk a ticket. That's the message from the state senators who voted 29-18 in favor of a bill banning the use of handheld cellphones while driving. "When you get in a vehicle, you should be thinking about driving," said Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, the bill's sponsor. Similar legislation has passed the Senate before but has died in the House.
Before sending this bill on to the House with a vote late Thursday night, lawmakers first waded through an onslaught of Republican amendments designed to bog it down and expose weaknesses in supporters' reasoning.
Sen. Janéa Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, introduced amendments outlawing eating, drinking, applying makeup and anything else that takes a hand off the wheel while driving. She said it didn't make sense to pick and choose distractions to outlaw. "Under this bill you would be guilty just for the mere fact of putting your hand to your ear," she said, "Why not also if you have your hand to your mouth, let's say, for eating?"
But Eide said having a hand off the wheel is not the issue, it's the cognitive distraction of cellphone conversations. "It's the equivalent of driving drunk," she said.
Of the collisions caused by driver distraction between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 last year, 13 percent were related to handheld cellphones compared to 4 percent blamed on eating and drinking, according to the Washington state Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Under Senate Bill 5037, holding a phone to one's ear while driving would be a secondary infraction, meaning drivers could get the $101 cellphone ticket only if pulled over for a primary offense such as speeding or running a red light. Use of hands-free phones would still be legal and tow-truck drivers responding to disabled vehicles, drivers of authorized emergency vehicles, licensed amateur radio operators and others reporting emergencies or summoning help would be exempted.
Nearly all of the Republican amendments were voted down. But Democrats agreed to a Holmquist amendment that prevents cellphone infractions from going on driving records or being disclosed to employers and insurance companies. Two other cellphone bills are still pending in the House. One would outlaw handheld and hands-free phone use by drivers with learner's permits or intermediate licenses, the first and second stages of the state's three-stage licensing program. The other would ban text messaging while driving. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 14 states already restrict cellphone use for young drivers and four outlaw handheld cellphone use.
Senate set to vote on $3.1B public-safety grant program (Source: RCR Wireless News)
By Jeffrey Silva
Story posted: March 5, 2007 - 1:54 pm EDT
The Senate is set to vote this week on a homeland security bill that includes more federal support for interoperable public-safety wireless communications. The legislation addresses a serious first-responder problem highlighted in rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The measure also creates a huge business opportunity for wireless vendors.
The legislation would authorize $3.1 billion between 2008 and 2012 for public-safety interoperability grants as part of a broader bill to implement unfinished recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The Department of Homeland Security would administer the grant program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently contracted with DHS to manage a separate, $1 billion grant program to improve interoperable public-safety communications around the country.
Meantime, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are examining options to help firefighters, police and medics communicate with each other during emergencies, and to give public-safety systems broadband capability by allowing first responders to access additional spectrum.
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Verizon Wireless Meets 911 Call Location Requirement
May 26, 2006
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Verizon Wireless on Friday announced that more than 95% of its customers' phones are capable of identifying their location when customers call 911 during an emergency, Reuters/Washington Post reports.
The Federal Communications Commission mandated that by the end of 2005 at least 95% of wireless phones have the capability to provide emergency personnel with a 911 caller's location. Verizon, Sprint Nextel, Alltel and U.S. Cellular asked for waivers, but the FCC has not yet acted on the requests.
Verizon said about one-third of 911 call centers have upgraded their systems to accept the location data from callers using wireless phones, Reuters/Post reports.
Sprint Nextel recently informed the FCC that more than 84% of its clients used wireless phones with location identification capability. Alltel said 86.1% of it customers use phones capable of identifying their location, but that it could take the company until June 2007 to meet the 95% requirement.
Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile use a network-based system to locate callers who dial 911 during an emergency, so they were not subject to the FCC's 2005 deadline (Reuters/ Washington Post, 5/26).
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FCC creates Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (3-18-06)
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission Friday created its long anticipated Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, which will take over various functions and issues from seven other entities within the commission.
“Many of the problems we saw during Hurricane Katrina were consistent across platforms,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told reporters following the meeting. “Those issues have to be considered in a comprehensive fashion.”
The new bureau, which is expected to begin operations over the next several weeks following congressional approval and completion of negotiations with the FCC’s labor union, will have a large portfolio of issues including 911, digital wiretap, priority access, emergency alert, communications-infrastructure protection, network security and reliability, and disaster management, planning, coordination and response.
Additionally, the new bureau is set to handle the licensing functions for public-safety agencies, but licensing functions for critical-infrastructure and private-wireless entities are to remain under the jurisdiction of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
“The FCC is looking to make sure public-safety issues get full attention,” said Anthony Dale, acting deputy director of the FCC’s Office of the Managing Director.
Dale said that staffing numbers had not been finalized but he expected the bureau to have less than 150 employees.
With the creation of the new bureau, it becomes even less clear what policy issues the wireless bureau will handle. With the exception of auction policy, Dale could not say what, if any, policy issues would remain within WTB. Other large policy issues of interest to the wireless industry—including the protection of customer call records—are being handled by the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau.
RCR Wireless News first reported in July that Martin wanted to eliminate the wireless bureau, move its functions to other bureaus and perhaps create a new bureau. Martin announced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that he intended to create the new Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
Also not announced were the names of bureau chiefs for either the new bureau or the wireless bureau. Catherine Seidel has been acting WTB chief since last March.
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FUNDING (3-18-06)
APCO Introduces State-By State Funding Matrix (Matrix Last Updated 2/27/06)
The 9-1-1 Services Office of APCO International created a Funding Matrix as a product from the 9-1-1 Funding Forum held in Washington, D.C. on February 18, 2005. The Forum was attended by Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Sheriffs Association (NSA), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), National Governors Association (NGA), National League of Cities (NLC) and National Emergency Number Association (NENA). National Association of Counties (NaCO), National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the International Association Chiefs of Police (IACP) indicated their participation but were unable to attend this opening session.
The Funding Matrix provides information on the various funding models across the nation including the wireless and wireline surcharge for each state. The matrix is available in PDF format.
APCO releases Funding Solution Issue Paper. Click here to read the paper.
Link: http://www.apcointl.com/forms/9-1-1fundingmatrix
http://www.apcointl.com/forms/9-1-1fundingmatrix/FundingMatrix22706.pdf
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MARKET DEVELOPMENT (4-28-06)
New Ways to Tell Where Your Kids Are (WSJ)
Tracking Gadgets, Services Can Pinpoint Exact Location;
Weighing the Privacy Issue
By LI YUAN
April 27, 2006; Page D1
A host of new products that help parents keep tabs on their children are hitting the market, including one-touch phones and even electronic tags that can be sewn into clothing.
Some technology-based trackers have been available before, but many of the previous products have required parents to be sitting at a computer. The latest services offer more mobility. Sprint Nextel Corp. recently launched its "Family Locator" service, which enables parents, using their own cellphone, to pinpoint the location of their child's mobile phone. It costs $85 for the handset (with a one-year contract) and $9.99 a month for unlimited location requests. Another company, Wherify Wireless Inc., plans to begin selling a mobile phone in August, called Wherifone, that will have a one-touch "find me" button to reach a parent instantly in an emergency (it sends an instant message to the parent's phone). The phone will be priced at $99.95 with a one-year contract, and service will cost $19.99 a month for 100 requests.
Knowing where your children are is an age-old parental challenge. The proliferating use of cellphones among teens and preteens in recent years has been a huge advance, enabling parents to stay in contact with their children, wherever they are. But cellphones merely allow parents to speak to their children, not to pinpoint precisely where they are at a given moment. Moreover, toddlers and other younger children, who may be prone to wander away in crowded places, are too young to have a mobile phone.
In part to address that gap, other companies are rolling out tracking products that work over short distances and don't require cellphones. SmartWear Technologies LLC in San Diego, which uses the "radio frequency identification" technology that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. relies on to manage its inventory and that cities deploy to read water meters wirelessly, plans in the next few months to begin selling RFID tags that can be sewn into children's clothing or embedded into a wristband. Using a "reader," parents can keep track of their children's movements as much as 600 feet away; the whole package costs $260.
The new services are being introduced as wireless carriers like Sprint and Verizon Wireless struggle to meet new federal regulations designed to make it easier for police and other emergency agencies to pinpoint the location of cellphones. Sprint and Verizon Wireless didn't meet the Dec. 31, 2005, deadline for 95% of their customers to have the right type of handsets. Industry analysts say the two companies are hoping that by offering added features more customers will upgrade to phones enabled with Global Positioning Service, or GPS, a requirement for the new features.
Developers of these offerings say they will give parents some extra peace of mind at a time when other new technologies, from social-networking sites like MySpace.com to instant messaging, have made parents feel more out of touch with their children. Civil-rights advocates say they infringe on children's privacy and have other Orwellian implications.
"There is a difference between talking to your kids and sniffing your kids," says Lee Tien, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital-rights organization in San Francisco.
Critics also worry that hackers may be able to access the location information and are concerned about the government's possible use of GPS and other technologies in ways that jeopardize civil rights.
Technology companies say they have been sensitive to these security and privacy concerns. For example, with Sprint Family Locator service, children are notified by a text message each time their location is provided to their parents by Sprint. "This will ensure open communication" between parents and kids, says a Sprint spokeswoman.
SmartWear says the company has set up a centralized system with multiple security steps that ensure only authorized people can access the information stored in their chips. "You might have more personal information listed in your local Yellow Page than on a chip," says Evan Jennings, a company spokesman.
GPS has long been used in the business world to monitor everything from delivery trucks to cargo ships. In recent years, it is increasingly turning up in newfangled tracking devices for parents, including watches and backpacks.
![[kid trackers]](http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/public/resources/images/PJ-AH633_pjLOCA_20060426221211.gif)
They haven't always been a success. In 2002, Wherify rolled out a GPS watch for children that didn't sell well, and the company discontinued it last year. The $400 price tag was too high, a company spokesman says.
Jacqui Jo Fahrnow, a single mother in Shawnee, Kan., recently subscribed to Sprint's service. Now, she says, she doesn't worry when her teenage sons are late from their basketball games. She can tell their exact locations using the phone -- even if they are in the middle of a game and can't answer it. "It's not about control. It's about their safety," Ms. Fahrnow says.
The service enables a parent to locate as many as four cellphones, and parents also set alerts to notify them when a child arrives at a specified location, such as a school or home, at a specific time. It costs $10 to $25 a month extra to use the wireless Internet.
The same technology that drives the SmartWear tags is used in Denmark's Legoland, one of Europe's biggest amusement parks, where parents can rent special tracking wristbands for their children to wear in the park. If a child wanders off, the parents can send a text message from their cellphones and receive a reply telling them where to find their child.
Disney Mobile of Walt Disney Co., which leases Sprint's network to provide wireless service under the Disney brand, will launch a service in June, also called "Family Locator." It's similar to Sprint's but won't have the preset safety alert feature. The price isn't yet available.
| WHAT IS E911? - See the Wireless 911 Overview - A couple of pages of info that provide a wonderful overview of the history of E911 from the National Emergency Number Association.
(LACK OF) E911 TRAGEDIES
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E911 TECHNOLOGY (9-17-05)
Wireless broadband could play role in communications rebuild (9-17-05)
Some executives, academics and analysts say the rebuilding of communications networks following Hurricane Katrina is a great opportunity to try out advanced wireless technologies that could provide inexpensive, high-speed Internet access for businesses and communities. The Washington Post (free registration)
RCR Wireless
HERNDON, Va.—XY-Mobile Technologies’ affiliate company Bonsai Networks has developed a tool to enable wireless carriers to audit and measure their compliance with E911 Federal Communications Commission Phase 2 regulations and other location-based services.
The E-911 Compliance Analysis Tool allows carriers to input, manage and report compliance data for current and historical testing. It features a simple, intuitive user interface.
Jammer Can Cut Cell Phone Signals (3-15-04)
Thailand’s entertainment venues such as movie theatres could soon be free of mobiles. A new “Mobile Phone Jammer” developed by Teletrol-One could be adopted by such venues in an effort to cut off cell-phone signals within specific areas. The Jammer is designed to emit interference signals to block data and voice transmission. The Jammer can also be used to stop bombers using cell phones to detonate devices. Teletrol-One is waiting for approval from the National Telecoms Commission before it officially introduces the product. (Source: The Nation)
Analysis: I can't help thinking that this technology could also be used in a negative fashion in a well-planned attack...
Cingular Orders Agilent's Location Based Software (7-21-03)
Cingular Wireless placed an order with Agilent Technologies for location-based software that will enable the wireless services provider to comply with the requirements set forth by the FCC for E-911 services. The mandate requires mobile phone operators to provide location-based services for wireless 911 callers to public emergency service agencies. Agilent's acceSS7 will monitor Cingular's GSM network, providing the required solution to allow emergency personnel to direct services to 911 callers. (Source: Cellular-News.com)
Intrado's Location Center Technology Complements Grayson Wireless Geometrix Wireless Location System, Helping Carriers Meet FCC E9-1-1 Guidelines -5-5-03) (Source: WirelessDevNet.com)
LONGMONT, Colo.-Intrado Inc. (NASDAQ: TRDO) and Grayson Wireless, a division of Allen Telecom Inc. (NYSE: ALN), have announced that Intrado's Mobile Positioning Center/Gateway Mobile Location Center (MPC/GMLC), working in concert with a GSM-compatible Grayson Wireless Geometrix(R) Wireless Location System, has been placed into commercial service and is providing locations of GSM 9-1-1 wireless callers in a market area selected by a major cellular carrier.
This marks the first time that GSM wireless carriers can provide accurate 9-1-1 caller location information to public safety agencies. The availability of GSM 9-1-1 caller location caps a long series of industry firsts achieved by the combination of Intrado and Grayson Wireless products and location technologies. Wireless carriers using any cellular or PCS technology now can implement the capability to locate 9-1-1 callers within the requirements of the FCC's E9-1-1 Phase II guidelines.
Three national carriers have informed the Federal Communications Commission that they will implement a network-based 9-1-1 caller location solution such as the initial GSM system, which uses Intrado and Grayson Wireless systems. One of these carriers announced its selection of Intrado and Grayson systems for this purpose and has already deployed its initial systems, as have a number of regional carriers that have also selected Intrado and Grayson for their GSM-compatible solution.
"We are realizing our vision of being the pre-eminent E9-1-1 service provider," said Dan Hoskins, Senior VP of Wireless at Intrado. "Intrado and Grayson Wireless now have an industry-leading wireless caller location solution that can be cost-effectively implemented regardless of existing technology utilized by wireless carriers."
Intrado and Grayson Provide Solutions to Carriers across Technological Platforms
Through alliances, Intrado's MPC/GMLC service delivers deployment, application hosting, performance validation, and ongoing system support and management. Intrado's MPC/GMLC service, which works with wireless caller location systems such as Grayson's, manages the distribution of location data associated with wireless 9-1-1 calls and enables wireless providers to quickly meet the Federal Communication Commission's mandate for E9-1-1 while minimizing costs. Carriers can cost-effectively implement wireless E9-1-1 while laying the groundwork for future location-based services (LBS).
Grayson Wireless manufactures and supplies the network-based Geometrix Wireless Location System, the first E9-1-1 Phase II-compliant location system of any type to be placed into commercial service. Grayson is the market leader in wireless 9-1-1 caller location systems, and Geometrix has been deployed in more than 8,000 cellular and PCS sites in urban, suburban and rural environments in 29 states. Grayson's location system is compatible with all wireless technologies in use in the United States and can locate wireless 9-1-1 callers without the need to modify or replace customers' handsets. In the Intrado and Grayson applications, the Grayson Geometrix caller location system provides the position of 9-1-1 to Intrado's Mobile Positioning Center/Gateway Mobile Location Center. The MPC/GMLC then routes the location data, along with other pertinent information, to the PSAP that serves the area where the 9-1-1 caller is located. In addition to wireless 9-1-1, Geometrix can provide accurate caller location support for Location Based Services (LBS). (Original Release: 4/23/03
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T-Mobile USA to Use TDOA Technology for 911 Wireless Location Service (3-28-03)
T-Mobile USA joins AT&T Wireless and Cingular in deciding to deploy Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) technology to meet FCC requirements for providing emergency dispatch centers with location information on cell phones being used to dial 911. T-Mobile had planned to use Enhanced Observed Time Difference (EOTD) technology, but said its decision "reflects its recognition of the practical difficulties of being the only nationwide carrier" using EOTD technology. (Source: CNET News.com)
Analysis - The death bell for E-OTD, at least in the U.S.
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New Service Allows Western Wireless to Cost-Effectively Implement Phase II Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 and Provides Platform for Location-Based Services (3-19-03)Source - www.wirelessdevnet.com)
Intrado Inc. (Nasdaq:TRDO), the nation's leading provider of solutions that manage and deliver mission-critical information for telecommunications providers, today announced that Western Wireless (Nasdaq:WWCA) is the first carrier to deploy Intrado's Position Determining Entity (PDE) hosting service for Phase II E9-1-1 services.
Intrado's PDE service, which helps locate the latitude and longitude of a wireless subscriber, enables wireless providers to quickly meet the Federal Communication Commission's mandate for E9-1-1 while minimizing costs. This choice offers wireless providers a turnkey solution that alleviates the need for large capital expenditures to implement an E9-1-1 solution. Carriers can cost-effectively implement wireless E9-1-1 while laying the groundwork for future location-based services (LBS).
"Western Wireless' successful deployment of Intrado's PDE solution confirms our market leadership in implementing wireless location server platforms for customers," said Dan Hoskins, vice president and general manager at Intrado. "Western Wireless' decision to use our new PDE offering underscores their commitment to providing customers innovative technology and E9-1-1 services."
Through alliances, Intrado's PDE service delivers deployment, application hosting, performance validation, and ongoing system support and management. Intrado(R) is partnering with TechnoCom Corporation(R), the leading provider of software, systems and services for implementing, optimizing and assuring ongoing performance for wireless location systems for E9-1-1 and commercial LBS services. To provide fault tolerance, always on availability, and precision location accuracy, Intrado utilizes the HP OpenCall PDE Frameworks and gpsOne technology from Snaptrack, Inc. -- hosted on the industry-leading OpenCall NonStop Intelligent Network Server. This HP solution has been deployed in most of the North American CDMA carrier networks to meet the FCC phase II mandate for E9-1-1.
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TruePosition, Cingular Sign Multi-Year Deal for Wireless Location Technology (3-12-03)
TruePosition Inc. announced on Monday a national, multi-year agreement with Cingular Wireless to provide a location-based E-911 technology for Cingular's Global System for Mobile (GSM) networks. The agreement also states that Cingular has contracted to upgrade its existing TruePosition location system to the TruePosition GSM location product, as well. This multi-year agreement is designed to support Cingular with meeting the Federal Communications Commission's enhanced-911 mandate. The FCC requires wireless carriers to provide designated public safety agencies with location information for 911 calls in accordance with the following standard for network-based location technologies such as TruePosition's: 100 meters for 67 percent of calls and 300 meters for 95 percent of calls. In testing conducted on Cingular's Wilmington, Delaware system, 67 percent of calls were located within 47.1 meters and 95 percent of calls were located within 112.2 meters. TruePosition has currently deployed over 4000 units in cell sites in numerous markets across the United States. (Source: Dow Jones Newswires)
Analysis: Expect Cingular to use this development in a future waiver request.
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FastMobile announced that it successfully completed a voice walkie-talkie (push-to-talk) test between Chicago and London using two standard mobile phones (1-23-03)
Group voice and text instant messages were sent simultaneously among the participants. The test used a compact FastMobile application running on off- the-shelf Nokia 7650 and 3650 handsets with Symbian operating systems. A FastMobile server, located in suburban Chicago and untethered to any operator, routed the digitized voice and text conversations across the GSM mobile Internet data networks (or General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) of US operator, T-Mobile, and UK operators, Orange and Vodafone. The successful test was completed without requiring any special hardware to be added to the either the mobile handset or the operators' networks.
In the US, the mobile phone operator Nextel has popularized cellular phone-based walkie-talkie services, particularly within the business segment. To date such services are limited to Nextel customers and have a limited range -- usually within the customer's home metropolitan area -- although Nextel has recently announced that they have started rollout of a nationwide service, expected to be completed by the end of this year.
By the second quarter of 2003, FastMobile plans to commercialize the walkie-talkie feature into its fastxt(TM) mobile instant messaging service which is now available in the UK. FastMobile is also planning to bring fastxt(TM) and its whole suite of instant communications service to the US later this year. fastxt(TM) is an enhanced mobile messaging service based on what is arguably one of the killer applications of the PC world today, instant messaging. fastxt(TM), allows subscribers to see when their friends are online and then lets them send instant text messages simultaneously to as many friends as they like. fastxt(TM) also lets subscribers send and receive ordinary SMS text messages as well as communicate with MSN Messenger(TM) friends at their PC's. FastMobile's services work on Symbian OS handsets and many of the newer Java handsets.
Analysis: Normally this column does not comment on a given carrier's "strategic" advantages (mostly because there are not many, at least in th U.S.). However, Nextel has carved out two "true" strategic advantages over the last several years: 1) a focus nearly exclusively on the business market, and 2) the ability to capitalize on the "Push-To-Talk" feature that came with their iDEN/SMR technology. They have started to drift from their business focus recently, and (as this article shows) their time to uniquely capitalize on Push To Talk is limited. SPECIFIC to this column, Nextel has never tried to capitalize (from a marketing standpoint) the business/personal security advantages of Push-To-Talk - an omission that may be costly in the LONG-TERM.
New Angle For LBS Revenues - U-TDOA Location Technology (1-10-03)
Mobile operators could greatly boost revenues from location services to current handsets by choosing the right positioning technology, argues a new White Paper from UK telecoms consultancy BWCS. Making the Most of Legacy Mobiles examines a wide range of technology choices facing mobile operators and identifies one clear winner.
"As 3G network launches get pushed back, many mobile companies want to offer location services on current networks without waiting for upgraded terminals," argues Graham Wilde MD of BWCS, "We found that there are gaping disparities in the revenue-generating potential of the different systems available."
From BWCS' research, which involved extensive interviews with operators and location based application developers, one clear technology winner emerged. A US system called Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA) was found to offer greater accuracy and consistency of service than its rivals. In addition its ability to support all current mobile customers subscribers from the word go, repeatedly gave it a clear advantage over its rivals in BWCS' revenue models.
Using information supplied by European and US mobile operators and BWCS' own projections of service take-up, the report points out that a mobile operator installing U-TDOA now, could hope for an almost fourfold increase in future revenues from location services. "We were surprised ourselves at the clarity of the findings" confesses Wilde. "This adds a solid dollar argument to those in favour of launching location services on legacy handsets."
However, BWCS warns, that while accuracy and consistency of service are key to driving the market for location based services forward, some mobile operators, relying on Cell-Identification for their positioning technology, are ignoring this. "The wide variance of performance with Cell-ID (identifying the user's whereabouts according to their proximity to a mobile base station) is a very serious issue," claimed Wilde "In some areas the location identity will be very poor, which makes the services too patchy. The drop in service level will be unacceptable to most users. It is similar to a fixed line telecoms customer paying for a massive T1 leased line only to see the transmission speed drop to about 1% of capacity at unpredictable times. No-one would be prepared to gamble business-critical or safety critical applications on such a link."
Key findings of the BWCS report:
There is a substantial opportunity for operators to generate revenue from location based services using existing network and handset equipment.
The greater the accuracy of the positioning technology the greater potential there is for generating revenues.
Accuracy must be coupled with coupled with consistency of service if applications are to win customers.
Leading revenue generators will include child-tracking services, location-specific information services and workforce automation services.
The high-accuracy and ability to support all subscribers from the outset makes U-TDOA the technology most suited to delivering LBS revenues.
U-TDOA substantially outperformed other location technologies (including Cell-ID, Enhanced Cell-ID, E-OTD and A-GPS) as the system capable of delivering most revenues. Both E-OTD and A-GPS lagged U-TDOA partly because each will take time to build a substantial base of terminals.
Location revenues from E-OTD and A-GPS can be substantially improved by combining them with Cell-ID, although these dual technology solutions are still outperformed by U-TDOA as a standalone solution according to BWCS' revenue models.
Analysis: Interesting (and upbeat) analysis; will be interesting to see if Cingular (see below) can catch up to Sprint PCS and Nextel in launching LBS services.
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TruePosition and Cingular Wireless Complete GSM Testing (12-19-02)
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa - TruePosition, Inc., a leading provider of location-based technologies, today announced the successful completion of field testing of TruePosition's network-based wireless location solution for the GSM air interface with Cingular Wireless. TruePosition's Uplink-TDOA platform achieved the FCC's mandated standards.
TruePosition installed its proprietary Position Determining Equipment (PDE) on 17 cell sites across 21 square miles in and around Wilmington, Delaware. In testing led by Cingular Wireless, the equipment exceeded the FCC's mandated standards. Testing occurred over a two-day period from October 23 to October 24, 2002. Testing involved stationary, moving, and in-building calls. Of the 1,529 calls made, 67% were located within 47.1 meters and 95% were located within 112.2 meters.
The results from the testing achieved the FCC's mandated requirements. The FCC requires wireless carriers to provide designated public safety agencies with the location of 911 calls in accordance with the following standards: (1) for network-based location technologies such as TruePosition's, 100 meters for 67% of calls and 300 meters for 95% of calls; and (2) for handset-based technologies, 50 meters for 67% of calls and 150 meters for 95% of calls.
"TruePosition's proprietary network-based, U-TDOA solution is available today," said Kent Sander, President and Chief Operating Officer of TruePosition. "This is another indication of the viability of TruePosition's technology for GSM carriers. Our technology works with all legacy and future handsets and, as proven again today, is a technology that surpasses the FCC's mandated accuracy standards."
Analysis: Hope they don't run into roadblocks when they begin large-scale deployment, like they did with Cambridge's E-OTD technology
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Cingular Switches E911 Wireless Location Technologies (12-18-02)
Cingular Wireless said it is changing the technology that it will use to meet the Federal Communications Commission requirement that by 2004, wireless networks in the U.S. provide the location, to within 50 to 100 meters, of callers dialing 911 from cell phones. Cingular had planned to use a technology called Enhanced Observed Time Difference (EOTD), but said in an FCC filing that it was now uncertain that EOTD could meet the FCC's accuracy requirements. Cingular said it would replace EOTD with a technology called Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA). Separately, Cingular said that it now reaches 50 percent of its potential subscribers with GSM (Global System for Mobile) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network technologies, and will continue to deploy GSM/GPRS in 2003. Ninety percent of its potential customers and all major markets should be complete by the end of next year, the company said. The network overlay will be complete in all Cingular markets by mid-2004. Cingular said that it is now beginning to test a software upgrade for its third-generation technology called EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment). The upgrade to EDGE puts in place packet data technology capable of transmitting data at up to peak rates of 470kbs - fast enough to support full-motion video. Users can expect average throughput speeds of 100Kbs - 150kbs in a fully loaded environment. (Source: CNET News.com, Reuters)
Analysis: E-OTD was dead, now it is formally buried
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Growing Consumer Use for GPS (12-04-02)
Global positioning navigation technology, commonly known as GPS, is proving a useful tool for people of all ages. The technology, using a network of 24 orbiting satellites, is being used to improve safety and security, measure distances and pinpoint locations. Wherify Wireless sells a watch for children that uses GPS to pinpoint a wearer's position within a few feet, allowing parents to know where their kids are at all times. A Finnish company, Suunto, sells wristwatch-like personal computers that allow golfers to measure the length of shots and the distance from tee to hole. The University of Washington is developing a handheld computer that incorporates GPS to assist early-stage Alzheimer's patients if they become lost or confused with daily routines and directions. (Source: USA Today)
Analysis: No mention of privacy issues....hmmmm
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Antenna System Said to Extend Range of Wi-Fi Networks (11-04-02)
San Francisco-based start up company Vivatoh is expected to discuss an antenna technology that it says will extend the range of Wi-Fi networks from a few hundred feet to about 2,000 feet inside buildings to four miles outside. The phased array antenna technology, initially developed in the 1950s, focuses radio signals, thereby increasing their strength. Vivato does not plan to discuss its specific products or their prices until the first quarter of 2003. (Source: New York Times, Network World)
Analysis: Potential to improve seamlessness of network transition from outside to inside and visa versa of E911/LBS applications, as well as reduce need for such transitions (e.g. a worker in mid-town Manhattan could stay on his corporate Wi-Fi network even while he goes to lunch, while also accessing consumer-type applications such as finding a friend or a restaurant.
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Aether Provides Garden City, N.Y. Police with Wireless Access to State Counter Terrorism Network (10-28-02)
Aether Systems said that the Garden City, N.Y. Police Department is using its PacketCluster Patrol to wirelessly access real time information from the newly created New York state database known as the Counter Terrorism Network (CTN). The CTN provides a conduit to federal agencies and posts terrorist alerts and Homeland Security information to help law enforcement agencies protect the public. Garden City Police has also begun a trial of the hand-held-based Aether PocketBlue, allowing members to access information either in their cars or on the streets. (Source: Baltimore Business Journal)
Analysis: Homeland Security meets Wireless Emergency Location applications
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Georgia Tech Works to Improve Communications Tools for First Responders (10/15/02)
The Center for Emergency Response Technology, Instruction and Policy (CERTIP) is developing advanced, cost effective tools for fire, police, medical and other first responders to crises. The work includes using digital wireless technology to set up on scene networks that can be used by responders from different agencies, whose older, analog radios may not communicate with each other. CERTIP is also developing ways to equip personal digital assistants to send data related to the size and scope of a chemical, biological or radiological to experts across the country or the world. Data could be sent on the condition of each patient affected, and advice received from experts away from the scene. Georgia Tech hopes to become a part of the network of labs to be created by the yet of be formed U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (Source: Georgia Tech Focus)
Evolving Topic: The "Integration" of E911 with systems used internally by police, fire, etc.
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E911 TECHNOLOGY QUESTION - How did companies such as AT&T Wireless, Cingular, and Voicestream (T-Mobile) place such a huge bet on such unproven (E-OTD) technology? In fairness, all E911 technology at the point of the E911 mandate was "unproven"; however, these carriers should have at least suspected at the point of their requesting an E911 waiver that the technology was suspect at best, not deployable at a large scale at the mean, and a disaster at the extreme. That they are just now acting to "disown" E-OTD is interesting.
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WI-FI - Intel Proposes Wi-Fi as Wireless Location Technology (9/12/02) Intel joined a number of companies promoting 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless technology for locating people who call 911 emergency services from cell phones. Intel is developing a "Universal Location Framework" that it says will accomplish what current technologies don't do well - find phone users who call 911 from inside buildings (Source: CNET News.com via CTIA.org)
Strategic and Tactical Implications: 1) Will address (generally) minor E911 issue (minor since most people in buildings know where they are - EXCEPT in catastrophic situations e.g. WTC - which is totally different application issue), and 2) Potentially enables new location-based services applications and application enhancements.
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STATE/COUNTY NEWS (6-4-03)
Monthly Charge for Locating Wireless 911 Calls (6-4-03)
A new bill moving through the Pennsylvania General Assembly will provide a funding source for E-911 technology to support the capability for police, firefighters and paramedics to locate a wireless caller. The legislation, approved last month, will be voted on in June. The bill will result in a $1 monthly charge to be placed on a cell phone users' phone bill. The charge will fund new technology that will enable call centers to view an address and location of the wireless caller. (Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Madison County, N.Y. Considers New Cell Phone Surcharge (4-9-03)
Madison County, New York is considering adding a 30-cent surcharge to be billed monthly to cell phone users. The funds raised through the new surcharge would be used to help upgrade the local 911 dispatch center to receive location information on calls from cell phones. Madison is said to be one of more than a dozen New York counties considering adding the new surcharge. New York cell phone users already pay a $1.20 per month state-mandated surcharge on their service. It, too, was designed to raise funds for dispatch center upgrades, but much of the money had been diverted for other budgetary items. A Madison county 911 official said seven New York counties have the technology to get location information on emergency calls from cell phones. (Source: The Oneida Daily Dispatch, N.Y.)
South Dakota to Use Cell Phone Tax Proceeds to Close Budget Gaps (3-27-03)
The proceeds from a new four percent gross receipts tax on cell phone companies and other wireless services are slated to be used to supplement state and county budgets. About 60 percent of the $5 million to $6 million raised through the tax would be used to support education in the state, and 40 percent would be divided among counties according to their share of South Dakota's total population. Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, attempted to use a line item veto to redirect the counties' portion of the tax proceeds to create a health insurance risk pool, but the state's House and Senate voted to override the veto. (Source: AP)
Wisconsin Found to Have Far to Go on 911 Location Technology (3-19-03)
A study of the availability of technology to receive location information on 911 calls in Wisconsin found a broad array of results. Cities such as Milwaukee, Waukesha and Whitefish Bay, as well as Dane, Brown and Rock counties have technology that receives location information on landline calls. However, other counties can only receive landline callers' phone numbers, one county receives no information at all, and one county does not have 911 service. In addition to upgrading 911 service for landline callers in the state, there also is concern about getting location information from cell phone calls. Wisconsin currently has no funding mechanism for upgrading dispatch centers with wireless location technology. Wireless carriers in the state say they are ready to supply it when the funding is available. The state legislature is now debating consolidating some of Wisconsin's 172 emergency dispatch centers, and placing a surcharge on consumers' cell phone bills to raise funds for the new technology. The Federal Communications Commission requires that 911 wireless location technology be available across the U.S. in 2005. (Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Tarrant County, Texas Deploys E911 Wireless Location Technology (2-26-03)
Of the 1,757,551 emergency calls handled by the Tarrant County, Texas 911 district in 2002, 45 percent came from cell phones. The county 911 district is now equipping its dispatch centers to automatically receive location information on 911 calls from cell phones. The Tarrant County Sheriff's Department, which handles 911 calls for the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, now has the ability to get location information on 911 calls to within about 30 feet of the cell phone. The service is available through four of the six major wireless companies serving the area. The FCC mandated that E911 wireless location capability be available across the U.S. by October 2005. (Source: Star-Telegram, Ft. Worth, Texas)
Pennsylvania Counties Await E911 Location Technology (2-26-03)
Counties in southeastern Pennsylvania say they lack funding to implement Phase I or Phase II wireless location technology at their emergency dispatch centers. Phase I technology would enable emergency dispatchers to receive the phone number and the location of the closest antenna site to a cell phone being used to dial 911. Phase II technology would enable dispatchers to receive location information to within 50 to 100 meters of the cell phone. Until the counties have the technology, 911 callers using cell phones are asked to give dispatchers as much location information as possible. (Source: The Times Herald, Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania County Seeks Funds for E911 Wireless Location Technology (2-11-03)
Emergency dispatch centers in Pennsylvania's Delaware and Erie Counties have the ability to automatically receive location information from 911 callers using GPS-equipped cell phones. However, the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County don't yet have the technology to receive the location information. In an effort to raise money for dispatch center upgrades, a state senator last year introduced a proposal for a $1 to $1.25 surcharge to be added to cell phone bills, but the proposal died in committee. (Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) - more info
York County, Va. Tests E911 Wireless Location Technology (2-6-03)
York County, Va. is testing technology that enables emergency dispatchers to automatically receive location information to within 100 ft. to 300 ft. of cell phones being used to dial 911. The service is currently available from Nextel, Verizon Wireless and ALLTEL, and will soon be available from Sprint PCS. The communications manager for York County's Department of Fire & Life Safety expects to work next with Triton-SunCom on providing the service. Seven carriers serve the York County area. The cost of equipping the dispatch centers to receive the location information was paid for, in part, by a 75-cent surcharge appearing on cell phone bills. (Source: The Daily Press, Hampton Roads, Va.) - more info
Georgia Lawmakers to Consider Two Bills on Cell Phone Use by Drivers (2-6-0-3)
Two bills, both restricting the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers, are under consideration in the Georgia legislature. One of the measures, backed by Rep. Barbara Mobley (D-Decatur) requires a $50 fine, and two points on the record of drivers who are caught using a hand-held cell phone or mobile radio. Emergency use is exempted under the bill. The second measure, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Parham (D-Milledgeville), makes hand-held cell phone use by drivers a misdemeanor with a $15 fine. Under the Parham bill, drivers would not be pulled over just for using a cell phone, but only if another traffic violation is involved. A February 6 editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests that the Georgia legislature pass a bill that bans all cell phone use, hand-held or hands-free, by drivers. The editorial cites research that said there was little difference in driver distraction if the phone was a hand-held or hands-f ree model. In a response to the editorial, Kimberly Kuo, vice president of communications at CTIA, wrote that in two recent studies, the use of wireless phones ranked eighth on the list of distractions that caused traffic accidents and that data collected by about 20 state highway authorities at the scene of accidents confirm this research. On average, wireless phones have been found to contribute to about one-half of one percent of accidents. Common activities such as changing the radio or climate controls may be less visible, but often rank higher as dangerous distractions. That's why, years ago, the wireless industry joined with public safety groups in national education campaigns, she wrote. Education should be accompanied by enforcing current legislation. Every state -- including Georgia -- already has laws that prohibit reckless and hazardous driving no matter what the cause. (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editorial, CTIA Response) - more info
California Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Restrict Drivers' Use of Hand-Held Cell Phones
Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has, for the third time, introduced legislation to restrict the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers. The bill calls for a $20 fine for a first offense, with a maximum of $50 for subsequent offenses. Simitian says the need for the bill is supported by California Highway Patrol statistics, and a recent report from the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, even though the lead author of the report urged against rushing to enact cell phone bans without careful study. (Source: AP)
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South Carolina Tests New Wireless E911 Technology (12-18-02)
Spartanburg County, South Carolina is testing technology that would enable 911 emergency dispatchers to automatically receive the location to within 50 to 100 meters of callers dialing 911 from cell phones. The county's 911 communications center is working with Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS to test the service. In order for the location information to be automatically transmitted, callers will need cell phones equipped with global positioning capability. Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS offer such models to customers. (Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal, South Carolina)
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U.K. Expected to Restrict Hand-Held Cell Phone Use by Drivers
The U.K. Department for Transport is expected to announce that is will proceed with new penalties for using hand-held cell phones while driving. The new penalties would include a £30 (about U.S.$47.71) or £40 (about U.S.$63.62) fine, and three points for each offense. Drivers can lose their licenses when they reach 12 penalty points. (Source: The Telegraph, U.K.)
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