Report Says More Work Needed on Dispatchable Location Database, Public Safety Voices Concerns, By Sandra Wendelken, Editor, May 7, 2019

Only 38.7% of valid test calls conducted during recent dispatchable location testing for 9-1-1 calls produced a result that meets the requirements for actionable dispatchable location as defined by Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) standards. Dispatchable location testing in the E9-1-1 Location Technologies Test Bed was conducted during the second half of 2018.

The reference point density in the National Emergency Address Database (NEAD) database is not yet at sufficient levels to assure optimum performance, according to conclusions in a report on the testing filed by CTIA with the FCC…… [ more]

The report, titled “E911 Location Test Bed Dispatchable Location Summary Report,” uses two definitions for dispatchable location, a process public-safety groups have roundly criticized.

In the report, dispatchable location level 1 (DL1) refers to “medium-level performance. DL1 indicates that the reported dispatchable location is known to the quadrant or zone of the building on the correct floor or on the floor immediately above or below the correct floor.” Dispatchable location level 2 (DL2) refers to “the highest level of performance. DL2 indicated that the report dispatchable location is known to the specific unit number.”

“DL Level 1 is not consistent with the definition in the commission’s rules and is unacceptable from a public-safety standpoint,” the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) said last year. “Furthermore, having these two definitions is likely to create confusion. NPSTC therefore urges the commission to maintain its current definition of dispatchable location, regardless of any apparent attempts by carriers to dilute that definition…..[more]

“Back in 2014 – 2015, public safety had concerns of how successful the NEAD would be, and this report does not do anything to alleviate those concerns,” NPSTC’s Goldstein said. “While the report does not say it directly, it seems that the carriers want more testing. It has been four years since the order and DL was promised as the gold standard, which replaced many of the more stringent requirements proposed by the FCC but not included in the final order based on the promise of DL.

“This makes it even more important to have the Z-axis. The carriers are relying on commercially available technologies such as Wi-Fi. It appears there are other technologies that are available be used to supplement Wi-Fi, but those may only provide the location of a caller and will cost the carriers addtional funds.”

Read complete report at Mission Critical Magazine, https://www.rrmediagroup.com/Features/FeaturesDetails/FID/920