Product Releases  E911 GPS Mandate Challenges Accepted Antenna
Designs  Thu, 11/06/2003 - 10:25am  By Andrew Beutmueller  In
June of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
proposed the Enhanced 911 (E911) Mandate # 94-102. During phase
I of the FCC order, carriers were required to provide 911
operators with the caller's telephone number as well as the base
station location. Clearly this was not precise enough for mortal
emergencies. Phase II required that coordinates for locating the
caller had to be provided within 125 meters in 67% of 911 calls.
The FCC established a four-year rollout schedule for Phase II,
beginning October 1, 2001 and to be completed by December 31,
2005. The question is how can carriers best comply with the
mandate, perhaps making it an opportunity rather than a
liability? Carriers should take a look at improving antenna
performance on the handset before they spend too much on other
measures that may turn out to be superfluous. New antenna
technology offers not only improved r