911 calls' location will be traceable

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911 calls' location will be traceable

By Associated Press, 10/2/2001 06:53

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Rhode Island has started using technology that

can help locate people who call 911 from a wireless phone. There's one hitch,

though: Only one phone company, Sprint PCS, currently offers it with a $150

phone that uses global positioning system technology. The new technology will

enable callers to be located to within a few hundred feet, The Providence

Journal reported in its Tuesday editions. The Federal Communications

Commission has set a deadline of 2005 for the location technology nationwide.

Currently, people dialing 911 on their cell phones are identified by their

phone number and the address of the cell site that received the call. Those

calling 911 from traditional phones are identified by the address from which

the call is made. Last year, about 40 percent of the 473,000 calls to Rhode

Island's 911 center were made from cell phones, according to Labelle,

Sprint's executive director.