T-Mobile slammed claims by the FindMe911 Coalition of...

T-Mobile slammed claims by the FindMe911 Coalition of poor performance by carriers on wireless 911 in Washington, D.C. In July, Verizon made similar arguments against the coalition (http://bit.ly/1uT5gqd), which is funded, at least in part, by TruePosition, a company that offers alternative technology for locating wireless 911 calls. The coalition acknowledges initial funding by the vendor on its website (http://bit.ly/1pHjVRV). “FindMe911 continues to push sensationalist headlines rather than facts as it tries to manufacture a crisis that simply does not exist,” T-Mobile said in a Monday FCC filing (http://bit.ly/1yVqPUM). “The information the coalition presents says very little about the availability of accurate E911 location estimates during an emergency call, and far more about FindMe911’s desire to drum up controversy where there is none to promote the business interests of TruePosition.” Data obtained by the coalition indicate nine out of 10 wireless 911 calls made in D.C. in the first half of 2013 “were delivered without the accurate location information needed to find callers who are lost, confused, unconscious or otherwise unable to share their location,” the FindMe911 group said in a July news release (http://bit.ly/VE42Qy). A coalition spokesman said 911 call center officials themselves believe wireless 911 location accuracy is a critical issue. “How many lives must be lost before carriers acknowledge there is even a problem?” the spokesman said in response to T-Mobile. “Data from across the country has proven that 911 call takers are not getting the life-saving location data they need to find wireless callers, yet carriers continue to cast blame, quibble and complain."