PS Docket No. 07-114
WASHINGTON, March 15, 2019—The Federal Communications Commission today proposed
to help first responders more accurately locate people who make wireless 911 calls from multistory
buildings. The proposal would assist 911 call centers in identifying the floor level where
the 911 call occurred, which can reduce emergency response times and ultimately save lives.
Today’s proposal is part of the FCC’s ongoing effort to improve its Enhanced 911 location
accuracy rules, which require wireless providers to automatically transmit to 911 call centers
information on the location of wireless 911 callers. The rules require wireless providers to
meet an increasingly stringent series of location accuracy benchmarks in accordance with a
timetable, including provision of the caller’s “dispatchable location” (such as the street address
and apartment number) or vertical location on a phased-in basis beginning in April 2021. The
Commission previously deferred a decision on a specific vertical location accuracy metric until
it received additional testing data, which has now occurred.