Public safety answering points (PSAPs) will be key players in implementation of a 911 location accuracy order adopted by the FCC last week (TRDaily, Jan. 29), David Simpson, chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, said during a webinar this afternoon sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International.

Under the order, all carriers will be required to provide to requesting PSAPs live 911 call data, which will let the PSAPs assess whether the performance of carriers in their areas is consistent with the performance seen in six test cities, Mr. Simpson noted. If the performance in their areas is below mandated thresholds, PSAPs can seek enforcement of the rules after first attempting to resolve the issue with carriers, he added.

Nationwide carriers also must, on a quarterly basis, report aggregate live call data to APCO, the National Emergency Number Association, and the National Association of State 911 Administrators.

Mr. Simpson said the public safety community will have “a direct participatory role in driving” implementation of the order’s requirements, adding that PSAPs should “be demanding customers of the carriers.”  He also stressed that granular live call data that carriers will have to provide quarterly will help in an assessment of how location technologies are working. He also stressed that a test bed to be established will be permanent and not temporary as in the past.

The test cities will be San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver/Front Range, Philadelphia, and Manhattan in New York City and their surrounding areas, which will allow the testing of various geographic morphologies.- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily