FCC Chmn. Powell urged consumers Thurs. to ask about E911 availab...

than others in implementing E911,” he said. The Commission issued a consumer advisory that cautioned that in some areas 911 operators didn’t yet automatically receive the phone number and location of a wireless call. The advisory said that although much progress had been made on E911 in the last year, “some wireless carriers and some state and local governments have invested more than others in bringing this life-saving technology to consumers.” The Commission said more than 1/3 of emergency calls came from wireless phones. “Government officials and the wireless industry need to redouble their efforts to make this a number one priority,” Powell said. The consumer advisory came after he earlier this week outlined the FCC’s next steps on E911 in a speech at the Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) annual conference (CD Aug 12 p1). Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.) and Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) are co-sponsoring a bill (S-1250) that would require location technology for wireless calls and would bar states from taking money from E911 funds for other purposes. “Wireless consumers in all but a handful of states pay E911 surcharges on their bills that go to state and local governments for E911,” Powell said Thurs. “Consumers have every right to expect that money to be used for E911 upgrades.” The National Emergency Number Assn. lauded the FCC’s guidelines for consumers, saying most subscribers didn’t realize that public safety answering points could locate automatically only about 10% of wireless calls.