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To: John Biddle who wrote (30762)	1/6/2003 12:15:11 AM
From: John Biddle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196681

Sunday, January 5, 2003 Wireless service allows phones to be pinpointed in an emergency By Pam Tharp, Correspondent pal-item.com If you dial 911 from your cell phone, don't expect the dispatcher who answers to know where you are. Locating cell phone callers in an emergency isn't easy, but an enhanced version of wireless 911 service that provides the caller's location is coming soon. Union County will hear Monday from two vendors who want to supply technology that will allow a dispatcher to see a wireless caller's location within a few hundred feet, using latitude and longitude. Wayne County is discussing an upgraded system with Verizon, its current 911 provider, said Amy Shake, assistant director of Wayne County Emergency Dispatch. Assistant city attorney Clay Miller is determining whether the upgrade can be done under the current Verizon contract, which ends in October, or if a new contract is needed. Verizon's price also is an issue, so the project could be put out for bids, Shake said. Currently, all Indiana counties that receive 911 calls have Phase I coverage. It provides the dispatcher a callback number for wireless calls and the location of the cell tower receiving the call, said Chris Ternet, executive director of the Wireless E911 Advisory Board. A single cell tower, especially in a rural area, may serve more than 100 square miles, offering little help in locating the caller in an emergency. Interstate drivers often have trouble describing their location, Ternet said. About 190 million 911 calls are made nationwide each year and 50 million of those come from wireless phones, according to information from the state wireless E911 board. Phase II technology is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission and offering it is wireless carriers' responsibility, Ternet said. "If a county is not interested in upgrading, they are not obligated to do so, but it's certainly in the best interests of citizens because it will allow the caller to be located," Ternet said. "It's a service wireless users are paying for now and those funds should be used to operate and upgrade 911 services." The mapping applications needed to locate callers are expensive, but counties won't pay for the upgrade, Ternet said. Phase II costs will be paid from the funds cell phone users pay for 911 service. Currently, that fee is 65 cents per month. Counties already receive some of that money under a formula based on population, Ternet said. Carriers can locate wireless callers in two ways, Ternet said. Some have phones with a global positioning chip in the handset, while others locate callers by triangulation, using information from three wireless towers in the area, Ternet said. Customers who are upgrading or buying new cell phones should ask about the enhanced 911 services available from their carrier, he said. The state wireless board's Web site will be updated this month with more Phase II information, Ternet said. Currently, customers can check the Web site for the availability of Phase I and II service by their carrier in the state. Lake County is the only Indiana county that currently has Phase II service. Residents of Martin and Parke counties still can't dial 911 for emergencies, so those counties don't receive wireless 911 calls either, Ternet said. Staff writer Don Fasnacht contributed to this story.