Canada’s telecom regulator ordered every cellphone service provid...

including toll-free access to at least one of the call centers on a 24/7 basis to give 911 operators subscriber information such as addresses and phone numbers in emergency situations. Carriers also must file plans with the Canadian Radio-TV & Telecom Commission (CRTC) within 90 days on how they will inform new subscribers about the emergency services they offer and periodically update existing customers. No deadline was set for the enhanced 911 because “it’s a bit complex to do so simultaneously across the country,” a CRTC spokesman said. Carriers will need to order equipment and make arrangements with phone companies and 911 call centers, he said. But the technology should be in place across Canada in 6-12 months, he said: “Today’s decision sets a clear goal that this capability is to be offered nationwide and instructing the carriers to do so… We think it’s significant to say, ‘Thou shall do this.'” Previously, wireless providers weren’t required to transmit emergency calls unless they had accepted “the status and all of the obligations of a competitive local exchange carrier” such as Bell Canada or Telus, the Commission said. But in March 2001, Montreal-based telecom Microcell, which had been ordered to offer E911 in large cities, asked the Commission to order all phone companies to provide enhanced network access services. Of the country’s 3 other wireless carriers, Bell and Telus both offer wireless E911 in a few large cities and Rogers doesn’t offer the service at all, a company spokesmen confirmed. Bell said smaller cities were next on its agenda while Telus said it was working on the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and a Rogers spokesman said the company would start with big cities but didn’t know when. The Commission said its long-awaited decision “reaffirmed the importance of 911 service to enhancing public safety by updating 911 regulations” for cellphone carriers.