When it comes to cell phones and 911 calls, the news is a mixed bag.
The good news: When you're outdoors and make a 911 call with your cell phone, the dispatcher should be able to tell precisely where you are, thanks to requirements by the Federal Communications Commission and advancements in location technology, such as GPS.
The bad news, especially when you consider that 70 percent of 911 calls now come from cell phones and that most cell calls are made from indoors: When you’re calling from inside a tall building or from an indoor location in a big city, it can be much harder to pinpoint your location. You could be stuck inside an apartment, office, or hotel, incapacitated and unable to describe your locale, and your cell phone wouldn't provide critical details to the 911 dispatcher.
The inability of 911 to locate cell phones indoors is a serious and, with more and more Americans opting for wireless-only phone service, growing issue. That’s why Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, is pressing for new standards for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and other wireless carriers to improve indoor-location accuracy.
Read our earlier report to make sure your home phone service can reach 911.
This year, the Federal Communications Commission put a proposal on the table that would raise benchmarks for wireless companies to help first responders locate wireless 911 calls. In five years, the carriers would be required to transmit locations for 911 calls made from indoors, with technology to pinpoint a floor of a building. Companies would have to report on their performance and progress, which is important because it can improve accountability and speed up improvements.
People in many situations would benefit from these proposed standards: a child calling 911 on a cell phone for an adult when neither can describe the place, disabled and injured people who have difficulty verbalizing where they are, or anyone indoors in an urban environment where more than simple GPS coordinates are needed to find them.
We believe the FCC’s proposal would save lives. It should be a priority for wireless carriers and regulators to ensure that all Americans can get emergency help, whether they're calling from indoors or outdoors, on a cell phone or landline.
This feature is part of a regular series by Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. The nonprofit organization advocates for product safety, financial reform, safer food, health reform, and other consumer issues in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace.
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