Commentary: Wireless industry reluctance to not pay for E911 upgrades shouldn’t sit well

The unwillingness of the Canadian wireless industry to pay for necessary upgrades to bring truly enhanced 911 (E911) services to Canada is shaping up to be a public relations fiasco. There are a few elements at play here that don't bode well for the wireless carriers and their industry lobby group if they don't bite the bullet, open their wallets and pay for necessary network upgrades. First the regulator was forced into action after a series of articles kept pushing the issue. The CRTC was painted in a not-so-nice light and was embarrassed publicly. The almost daily references about how the lives of numerous people could have been saved if only the CRTC had forced the wireless carriers to upgrade their networks required swift action. And we will have it with a report from the CRTC next month detailing the rollout plans for upgrades. Secondly, these lives could have been saved for $50 million - the cost to upgrade the country's wireless networks. There are some disputes about how much it will actually cost, depending on whom you listen to. Thirdly, the articles keep mentioning the fact that wireless carriers collect fees for 911, use some of the charges for 911 system maintenance while reporting the rest as revenue, and are still requesting taxpayer money to deploy the systems. This is almost certainly a proposition that would be decried by the Canadian population at a time when they fear for their jobs while the wireless carriers continue to report solid to huge profits. More than half of all 911 calls in Canada are made from a wireless device, a figure the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association regularly trumpets. According to the CWTA's website, more than six million emergency or 911 calls are made from cell phones each year. More than two years ago, Judy Broomfield, 911 coordinator for Toronto Police Service, told Report on Wireless that attention should be on wireless not on VoIP as it was in the fall of 2006. At the time, Bell Mobility was conducting a trial of enhanced wireless 911 location technology using assisted GPS signals. The trial was to have lasted for six months, but was ongoing in May 2008, according to minutes from a NENA Ontario meeting at the time. The minutes also note that the CRTC had expected a report on the trial in August 2008. Can the CWTA and its biggest paying members, the wireless operators, talk their way out of this mess? They sure can: "Money talks, and (you know what) walks."

Commentary: Wireless industry reluctance to not pay for E911 upgrades shouldn’t sit well

News | 01/12/2009 9:00 pm EST

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