FCC wants GPS in all cell phones by 2018

When you dial 911 on a landline phone, the operator can easily track your location, but providing the same service for wireless devices is still a work in progress.

In its ongoing effort to enable 911 location services for mobile phones, the Federal Communications Commission last week proposed that all cell phones be GPS-enabled by 2018—and that covers phone providers and VoIP services.

“Because in 2010 almost all 2G and 3G handsets shipped by manufacturers were equipped with GPS-chips, by the end of the eight-year implementation period, network-based carriers will likely have complied with their location accuracy benchmarks by ‘blending in’ such location-capable handsets,” the FCC said in its order. “Therefore, the costs of meeting the handset-based standard within a reasonable sunset period after 8 years should be minimal.”

That eight-year period kicked off in September 2010 with an FCC order that required mobile providers to implement specific requirements for enhanced 911 (E911) location tracking. The entire effort, however, actually dates back to 1996, when the FCC first required Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) network providers to implement basic E911 rules. In the past 15 years, the FCC has issued a number of updated requirements regarding E911, most recently proposing that first responders be able to accept text messages, photos, and videos via 911. Last week’s order continues on that path with GPS.

According to the FCC document, a company would technically be compliant if at least 85 percent of its users had GPS-enabled devices. And while the FCC is aiming for E911 location-tracking implementation by 2018, the commission declined to provide an exact deadline because “given the constantly evolving nature of location technologies, we recognize that it is premature to adopt a specific sunset date at this time.”

“We believe that as the end of the eight-year period draws closer, the public safety community, wireless carriers, location technology vendors and other stakeholders will have a significantly better understanding of how much time network-based carriers will need … to come into compliance with the handset-based standard,” the FCC said.

As Courthouse News Service, which first reported the story, notes, VoIP is covered under the rule because its users are increasingly mobile, “so the registered land location of the user may not show where the user actually is when making a 911 call.”

Read the story here.

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