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NENA: Only half of PSAPs will locate callers by 2005

Feb 6, 2004 12:00 PM

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) said yesterday that only half of all public-safety answering points (PSAPs) will have the ability to locate wireless callers “with any precision” by the end of 2005, roughly eight years after the federal government ordered such technologies and four years past the initial government deadline. Though the technology is “readily available,” technical, policy and funding problems have slowed deployments, NENA said.

However, the analysis, conducted by the research firm Monitor Group under the auspices of NENA’s Strategic Wireless Action Team (SWAT), also indicated that up to 80% of PSAPs nationwide could be Phase II compliant by 2010, up from 20% at the end of 2003.

The analysis further indicated that 911 system stakeholders—telecom carriers, public-safety groups, 911 technology providers, and government leaders—agree that state governments should be held more accountable for delays in Phase II deployments. Additionally, stakeholders believe policy makers should close system-wide funding gaps estimated to be in excess of $1 billion per year and that the E911 system should be “future proofed,” so it is compatible with emerging technologies, features and infrastructures, according to the analysis.