Non-US Satellites Prohibited for Emergency 9-1-1 Calls
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) doesn’t allow the use of non-US satellites, Chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau David Simpson said referring to the FCC order requiring wireless providers to be able to transmit emergency indoor cellphone calls to 9-1-1 call centers.
“Nothing in this order authorizes the use of any non-US satellite signal in conjunction with the 911 system,” Simpson said at an open meeting on improving location accuracy for 911 calls on Thursday.
The FCC previously reviewed a proposal to add Russia’s GLONASS satellite system to the US satellite GPS system to double the coverage of satellites, thereby increasing the probability and accuracy of finding someone making a 9-1-1 call.