Canada significantly lags behind the U.S. in implementation of enhanced wireless capabilities

TORONTO - Canadian public safety experts view Canada as "late in the game" in adopting new rules to implement wireless enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) services and there is a definitive need for regulators to play a stronger role in setting national wireless E9-1-1 policies and standards, a new research study conducted by leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC Canada Ltd. reveals.

The research includes a comparative study by IDC on wireless enhanced E9-1-1 services offered in Canada, the United States and Europe. In addition, IDC sought the views of a select number of leading Canadian first responder organizations that are stakeholders in the use of wireless E 9-1-1 services and Canada's approach to implementation.

Although safety officials at first responder organizations generally applaud the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for releasing a policy on wireless E9-1-1 in early 2009, it has left important features to further study and implementation at an unspecified time. There is a general consensus that this lag in adoption and lack of accuracy standards will continue to impede the provision of effective location-based emergency dispatch services to wireless users by Canadian public safety bodies.

There is a widely recognized need among the Canadian public safety community for the CRTC to take a definitive leadership role in cooperation with municipalities in setting national wireless E9-1-1 policies and standards.

Recent experience in Canada demonstrates that the wide-spread adoption of wireless communications poses a number of problems for public safety officials, particularly how to effectively dispatch emergency response services when 9-1-1 calls are made on cell phones.

There are more than 21 million wireless subscribers in Canada and over half of all 9-1-1 calls in Canada and the U.S. now come from cell phones. The number of wireless subscribers in Canada overtook the number of land lines for the first time in 2007 and IDC Canada expects wireless penetration in Canada to rise to 27 million subscribers, or almost 80 per cent of Canada's estimated population in 2012.

Although cellular phones are often viewed as safety devices, it is not commonly realized that 9-1-1 calls may not be located accurately - delaying the response time. Under many circumstances, caller location has to be verified verbally and is therefore subject to human error, increasing the risk of life-threatening emergencies if a caller is unable to speak.

"Effective implementation of wireless enhanced E9-1-1 services is of great concern to emergency service providers particularly with major international events, such as the 2010 Olympics, coming to Canada," said Lawrence Surtees, IDC Canada Vice President, Communications Research and Principal Analyst. "Canada is significantly lagging behind the U.S. as well as Europe in adopting wireless emergency service technology. This technology exists today and it is imperative that Canada's emergency call centres are well equipped to quickly and accurately pinpoint the location of a 9-1-1 cell phone caller."

The U.S. took the lead in putting the issue of wireless E-911 on the agenda 15 years ago, mandating that all cell phone manufacturers must ensure that their handsets are E9-1-1 capable.

The CRTC recently required Canadian wireless service providers to implement a wireless Phase II E9-1-1 service, noting that an equivalent service is currently deployed in the U.S. However, the CRTC's Phase II E9-1-1 policy is deficient compared to the services currently provided to U.S. wireless users.

Several public safety concerns with the CRTC Phase II E9-1-1 policy have been identified, including:

- Percentage of mobile phones with Phase II E9-1-1 location capability

In the U.S., more than 95 per cent of phones have high-accuracy E9-1-1 location capability.

The CRTC policy will result in as few as 30 per cent of Canadian mobile phone customers receiving accurate locations for E9-1-1 service when the service is implemented in February 2010 because the phones either need to have a special assisted GPS (A-GPS) chipset or wireless service providers need to provide a high accuracy network-wide solution.

- Accuracy

Accuracy requirements for E9-1-1 location services are prescribed in the U.S. by rules mandating wireless providers that use a network-based location technology (e.g. triangulation) to pinpoint 67 per cent of calls within 100 metres, and 95 per cent of calls within 300 metres. For those that use a handset-based technology (e.g. GPS), the accuracy requirements are 50 and 150 metres. These accuracy levels must also be tested. The CRTC has noted the general levels of location accuracy available with location equipment on the market (10-300 metres), but it has not prescribed any precise requirements for location accuracy. The CRTC also has not mandated accuracy level testing.

- Roaming

U.S. wireless service providers are required to provide location information for subscribers of other companies that roam on their service. This provides E9-1-1 capability for out-of-region or foreign visitors who use their cell phones.

The recent CRTC policy does not establish a similar requirement. For example, most out-of-country visitors to the Vancouver Olympics would not be accurately located if they placed a 9-1-1 call on their cell phones. The issue of whether roaming subscribers will be able to accept 9-1-1 service in Canada has been delayed to an unspecified Stage 2 implementation timeframe.

- Mid-call location updates

Public safety officials often require the ability to check a 9-1-1 caller's location in the middle of a call which allows the caller to be found even if on the move, whether in the trunk of a car or wandering lost in a forest. While this function is not strictly required in the U.S., it is broadly available in the United States.

In Canada, the question of whether mid-call location updating will be available has been delayed to an unspecified Stage 2 implementation timeframe.

- Unsubscribed handsets

U.S. wireless providers are required to provide location information for 9-1-1 calls made on unsubscribed handsets, or pre-paid services. The CRTC policy establishes no such requirement in Canada. This issue has also been delayed to an unspecified Stage 2 timeframe.