T-Mobile USA and other members of E-OTD (Enhanced Observed Time D...

on state of E-OTD development came as Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless said they were exploring other options to meet E911 deadlines. Members of E-OTD group touted “unprecedented cooperation” of industry on technology development and said it already was meeting Phase 2 accuracy requirements for 2002. They said trials conducted by forum in Sept. and Oct. produced results that met FCC’s accuracy requirements of locating callers within 100 meters and 300 meters in 2002. Based on those results and plans for next year, E-OTD “should meet the Commission’s 2003 requirements,” it said. Recent report by former FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Dale Hatfield on status of E911 deployment said recent carrier reports to FCC reflected some of uncertainty over ability of E-OTD ultimately to meet E911 accuracy requirements by certain deadlines. He urged FCC to closely monitor situation so it wouldn’t be forced to relax accuracy requirements for certain carriers. T-Mobile and others told FCC in Mon. filing that carriers’ “biggest concern” of placement of antennas on towers and new base stations being required in only “exceptional cases” had been addressed. Speed-to-market issues also have been addressed and “analysis tools are catching up,” they said. Among other advances they cited were fact that location messaging units now essentially were “plug and play.” E-OTD measures relative time of arrival of signals from several base transceiver stations (BTS) to ascertain caller location. Filing outlined plans for accuracy improvements that would enhance BTS clock stability and mitigate interference, “which are network- related issues and which do not reflect fundamental limitations in E-OTD technology.” Forum also told FCC that members had studied options for increasing number of visible base stations that E-OTD could use, “which may significantly improve accuracy in rural environments.”