AT&T Wireless became latest carrier last week to seek waiver of FCC’s location accuracy requirements for Enhanced 911 Phase 2, seeking time to deploy handset-based technology through its GSM network and network-based solution for its TDMA customers. AT&T said its request was similar to conditional waiver for hybrid handset- and network-based solutions that agency granted to VoiceStream last fall. Request came at time that Cingular Wireless also appeared to be entertaining similar waiver request at FCC, although spokesman said Fri. that carrier hadn’t yet made decision. Groups representing public safety answering points that field 911 calls have objected to such waivers, raising concerns whether Commission’s upcoming deadline for E911 Phase 2 would be met.
N.Y. Gov. George Pataki (R) and majority leaders of N.Y. legislature all came out in support of the idea that use of hand- held mobile phones while driving should be banned. State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Saratoga Springs), Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Pataki in separate news conferences Mon. all urged legislature to reach agreement among several pending car phone restriction bills and pass something this year. So far, none of bills has made it out of committee. Supporters of mobile phone restrictions said event made it likely that N.Y. could become first state to pass restrictions on car phone use while driving, but said they didn’t expect final deal on legislation to be struck until near end of current session this summer. No state has restricted drivers’ use of mobile phones, but 10 municipal govts. and 23 other nations have various bans. Bills have been considered in 35 states this year. Verizon Wireless, nation’s largest mobile phone provider, has said it could support statewide car phone laws if they superseded local ordinances, allowed calls to 911 and avoided draconian penalties.
Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions (ATIS) is new sponsoring body for TTY Forum, which is working on technological solutions for giving TTY users access to 911 over digital wireless systems. TTY is device used to make phone calls by people with hearing or speech disabilities. Forum is composed of representatives of wireless industry, equipment manufacturers, emergency and relay service providers, consumer groups. Next meeting is June 26 at ATIS hq -- Megan Hayes, 202-662-8653 or mhayes@atis.org.
Broad group of wireless, GPS, satellite radio and air transport interests urged FCC not to take final action on operation of ultra wideband (UWB) equipment under Part 15 rules without issuing further notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). In letter sent late Tues. to Chmn. Powell, 26 companies and trade groups stressed it would be “premature and inappropriate for the Commission to adopt any final rules at this time.” Agency issued NPRM on UWB operations last May (CD May 11 p1), but it didn’t contain specific regulatory language, group said. Since then, FCC has received large volume of test results on potential interference of UWB operations in both GPS and non-GPS bands. “However, the interested parties cannot logically extrapolate from the various test submissions any comprehensive picture of the direction of the Commission’s final thinking with respect to a potential regulatory framework,” group said in letter obtained by Communications Daily. Companies signing letter include AT&T Wireless, Lockheed Martin, Nortel, Qualcomm, Satellite Industry Assn., U.S. GPS Industry Council, WorldCom.
Ore. House E-govt. Committee put indefinite hold on bill to protect mobile phone and data terminal users from unwanted ads. Bill (HB-3345) would have prohibited mobile phone providers from disclosing location of customer’s phone except to 911 and law enforcement agencies. Measure also would have banned sending ads to mobile phones based on customer’s location unless user consented in writing in advance. Committee Chmn. Jim Hill (R- Hillsboro) said he was opposed to adopting “onerous prohibitions” on emerging industry and feared bill unintentionally would affect new wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, allowing computers to communicate with other wireless devices in confined areas. Wireless industry interests at recent hearings said bill could make it hard for wireless customers to get services they wanted and that wireless privacy concerns were best addressed at federal, not state, level. Proponents said privacy implications of technologies that precisely pinpointed mobile phone users needed to be addressed now, before problems could arise. Bill technically isn’t dead and could be revived in current session if compromise is worked out.
LAS VEGAS -- As U.S. carriers eye FCC deadline this fall for Enhanced 911 Phase 2 services, wireless industry still is grappling with finer points of which location-based services will provide best return on investment, how privacy will be guarded and how ads will be delivered, panelists said at CTIA Wireless 2001 here Tues. “The real challenge is getting handset prices down to where they need to be,” said Tom Wrappe, SnapTrack vp-product and program management. But as technological advances drive down costs, he said, “you will see this does go mass market in the next year or year and a half.”
W.Va. bill to prohibit release of 911 recordings or transcripts to anyone, including news media, without court order or subpoena cleared Senate committee process and was poised for Senate floor amendments. Bill (SB-412) is being pushed by emergency center directors who say they want to protect privacy of people who use 911 but are concerned with broadcasters’ airing lurid 911 calls. It would also prohibit making public the identity or location of person making 911 calls, reflecting proponents’ concerns of retribution because of reporting crimes or domestic violence.
Ore. House E-Govt. Committee opens hearings today on bill (HB-2987) that would prohibit local govts. from regulating or restricting mobile phone use. State Rep. Jim Hill (R-Hillsboro), bill’s sponsor, said that if mobile phone use was to be restricted, curbs should be enacted at state level and be same statewide. Municipal govts. say bill is unwarranted preemption of local authority over highway safety. No localities have adopted mobile phone restrictions in Ore., but issue was considered in cities of Salem and Tigard. Meanwhile, Ore. House Fri. decided to return to committee another bill involving local telecom authority -- HB-2680, which would impose restrictions on local govt. entry into telecom business, including requirement for 3-year cost projection before locality could enter business, rates that fully covered costs, no discrimination against competitors and no direct or indirect subsidies from tax revenues. New Ore. bill (HB-2436) would make recordings of calls to 911 confidential matter that’s not public record. There would be exemption for news media, but only after one day had passed since incident. State’s newspapers and broadcasters say they're opposed because 911 tapes are important for exposing weaknesses in emergency response systems.
Canada’s federal govt. announced Fri. start of 3-month public consultations on use of cellphone silencer devices that could block mobile phones. Industry Canada said purpose of consultation was to see “whether the public interest would be served if the present occasional authorization of these devices, for law enforcement and public safety purposes, were to be broadened for wider niche market and location-specific applications.” Jamming devices aren’t permitted for sale or use in Canada now because, “in the absence of a license and appropriate technical standards and equipment certification,” their use would contravene Canada’s Radiocommunication Act, said Industry Canada, govt. department that’s in charge of such matters. However, it said it wasn’t “prepared to address a license-exempt status for these devices.”
NTIA released test results Fri. analyzing potential impact of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices in GPS bands, raising questions about potential scenarios in which UWB would be used for high-data rate applications in that spectrum. Test results, in highly technical 150-page report submitted to FCC, appeared to raise fewer concerns about applications of UWB at lower pulse rates, such as ground- penetrating radar. Fantasma Networks, which is developing UWB devices for non-GPS bands, said report raised “open-ended questions” on UWB in GPS bands and FCC should move ahead and authorize operation above 2 GHz while GPS concerns were being addressed. Another UWB developer, Time Domain, said it was heartened by apparent NTIA conclusions that in certain scenarios UWB pulses have same impact as Part 15 unlicensed devices. NTIA study sets stage for FCC decision later this year, with more data placed before agency on this issue “than there is in all but a few FCC proceedings,” said Jeff Ross, Time Domain vp-corporate development & strategy.