OnStar, in a filing at the FCC last week, cited the relatively lo...

wireless handset in terms of 911 mandates. Late last year, OnStar asked the Commission for a declaratory ruling on the extent to which telematics units embedded in vehicles were covered under Enhanced 911 rules. OnStar and similar systems use privately run call centers to forward automatic location information and other data to emergency responders. The company sought clarification that such embedded devices weren’t handsets as defined under FCC E911 orders and that those units weren’t included in calculating wireless carrier’s Phase 2 handset compliance requirements. OnStar told the FCC it now used analog technology because it allowed voice and data to be transmitted on the same call. “This capability is required in offering automatic airbag deployment notification, emergency and other location-based services,” OnStar said. “The challenge in transitioning to digital is developing a robust data transport.” It said fewer than 13 calls per day were placed to 911 by subscribers using its optional wireless calling service, which essentially are not screened by OnStar. It uses a single transceiver-based service in which prepaid interconnected wireless calling is an option, but only if the driver first has subscribed to the basic safety and security suite of call center services, including location-based emergency and automatic crash notification services. OnStar has contended that its location-based emergency and automatic crash notification service capability differentiates it from the conventional handset scenarios for which wireless E911 requirements were designed. The company told the FCC it now forwarded more than 6,000 screened calls with location information each month to public safety entities.