May 28, 2001 – No doubt about it: cell phones provide a mobile safety net.

According to figures released by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, more than 51 million emergency service calls were made from cell phones in 2000.

"Wireless phones are the greatest safety tools since the development of 911," said Tom Wheeler, president and CEO of CTIA. "Wireless phones give individuals the upper hand in emergencies."

That upper hand will be given more muscle this fall with the E-911 upgrade ordered by the U.S. the Federal Communications Commission. The goal of the FCC mandate is for carriers to provide positioning technologies that more accurately pinpoint the location of the caller.

Last week, however, some carriers expressed doubts about the feasibility of meeting that deadline, among them Cingular Wireless, which reportedly may appeal to the FCC for a temporary waiver of the October timeframe.

Meanwhile, developers continue to push the location-technology envelope. Last week SCC Communications launched its wireless national Automatic Location Identification (ALI) network that it says will help public safety agencies and local governments that use ALI databases do the job of finding people faster and with more detailed information.

Also announced last week, news that Ericsson will use Cambridge Positioning Systems' location technology for its positioning products. That deal gives a boost to the Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD) system.

Land-based E-OTD and satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) are, for now, the key systems around which E-911 technologies are being developed. In general, CDMA operators are leading toward GPS and GSM carriers are moving in the E-OTD direction, including AT&T and VoiceStream. VoiceStream is currently testing the CPS E-OTD system in the Houston area.

The two systems use similar ways of calculating location, though with a major difference: GPS relies on satellites while E-OTD measures from mobile phone base stations.

E-OTD is not as accurate as GPS, although its range – 50 to 125 meters – is within the boundaries set by the FCC's E-911 requirements.