FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled four core principles...

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled four core principles for wireless calls to 911 in remarks at the APCO conference in New Orleans. Rosenworcel said the principles have been endorsed by APCO at her behest and have the support of CTIA as well. The first is that all calls must be dispatchable, she said, according to her written text (http://bit.ly/1kIBykn). “The gold standard for location accuracy is dispatchable location -- the actual floor plus office suite, apartment, hotel room, or classroom.” Rules also must be verifiable, with verifiable targets for measuring accuracy, and flexible, she said. “A solution must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate technological advancements like next generation 911.” Rules also must be put forward in a “reasonable” timeline, Rosenworcel said. “While we must continue to strive towards achieving dispatchable location, we must be honest that this goal could take some time.” The FCC needs “interim benchmarks along the way.” Rosenworcel also said she has visited public safety answering points across the U.S. The visits “have taught me that in Washington, what is trite is true -- leaving town is a good thing,” she said. CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a blog post the group is on board with Rosenworcel’s calls for a voluntary solution to bolster wireless calls to 911. “We need to work harder and faster,” Baker said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1orK7L6). “We need a smarter approach to improve 9-1-1 location accuracy. We need to work with all stakeholders to enhance wireless 9-1-1 accuracy. I pledge that we will at CTIA.”