The FCC plans to vote Friday on a methodology to enable first responders to more easily locate 911 callers in a multi-story building. The so-called “Z-Axis” would indicate a callers’ coordinates within about nine feet of their location.
Public safety groups weighed-in on the topic:
- National Association of EMS Physicians: “The National Association of EMS Physicians supports the Federal Communication Commission’s Draft Fifth Report and Order and the Draft Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. It is a critical step in enabling EMS and first responders to quickly and accurately locate 911 callers. Deploying z-axis technology would identify the floor level for wireless 911 calls made from multi-story buildings, thus decreasing response times to provide faster medical attention, ideally improving outcomes and saving lives.”
- NENA, The 911 Association: “These rules and proposals are a great step forward for 911 and for everyone who relies on public safety responders. . . . We’re pleased with the ±3m standard, and we’re not alone. It’s safe to say that public safety stands behind the FCC’s draft rules. . . . We’re excited because we believe that undistorted, accurate x/y/z-axis information will open up a new world of dispatchable location solutions for public safety, promoting technology-neutral innovation in indoor location accuracy, mapping, and addressing.”
- National Public Safety Telecommunications Council: “Excellent news for public safety regarding proposed FCC rules to mandate a 3 meter accuracy standard for 911 caller location.”
- Paramedic Foundation: “Timely emergency notifications on mobile devices can save lives and paramedics need accurate location information, especially inside buildings. The FCC’s latest order will mandate a 911 caller’s location in a multistory building to within 9 feet vertically and save lives.”
- National Sheriffs’ Association: “The FCC should adopt the R&O as written, because it will considerably and demonstratively improve 911’s ability to locate wireless callers in multi-story buildings. The rules and proposals are a much needed improvement for everyone who relies on first responders. This will enable 911 callers to be located more quickly, will greatly improve response times and will save lives.”
- National Association of State EMS Officials: “We have supported the life-saving foundation of the Draft Fifth Report and Order and the Draft Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. These documents establish the three meter vertical (z axis) requirements for 911 wireless calling location accuracy and seek to further tighten and refine the requirements for location accuracy in all horizontal and vertical planes. Simply stated, if a 911 caller in medical crisis is on a different floor or in a different building than it appears from the caller’s information as provided today, there will be a delay in EMS reaching them. The FCC’s current drafts are a great step in fixing that.”
November 21, 2019
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