The Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) critic...

handsets. Nextel officials, speaking last week on the sideline of the CTIA Wireless 2003 show in New Orleans, called for removal of the FCC’s deadline of wireless handsets to be Phase 2-capable by year-end 2005. They said that as long as interim benchmark dates were being met, an end date was needed for wireless handsets, and if one were set, it should coincide with the industry’s growth rate, which would push the date out another 3 years. “It is clear that this is not an easy task. The point is PSAPs [public safety answering points] are working hard to implement the technology because this is a matter of life and death,” APCO Acting Pres. Vincent Stile said. APCO said national carriers had received waivers increasing the time they had to meet interim Phase 2 deadlines, relief that was based on no change in the ultimate 2005 date. “The public safety community has clearly expressed its displeasure with any action that would lead to further implementation delays,” Stiles said. “The fact that this technology saves lives should be reason enough for our communications centers, wireless carriers and the FCC to deny Nextel’s request,” he said.