Cellphone firms ordered to fix 911 system to save lives

I did a trial with Justice von Finckenstein, when he was on the Federal Court -- although I was unsuccessful I was impressed with how sensible and careful he was. With more folks using cellphones as their day to day phone this change is absolutely necessary.

Cellphone firms ordered to fix 911 system to save lives
Regulator imposes deadline for upgrade that will allow dispatchers to locate callers

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail


Canada's telecom regulator will force the cellphone industry to upgrade the country's 911 system, which has fallen behind other parts of the world and may be contributing to deaths involving wireless calls for help.

Government officials said they would impose a February, 2010, deadline to install the necessary equipment to give 911 dispatchers the ability to locate cellular calls in an emergency.

The plan has not been disclosed to much of the telecom sector. It comes after a recent Globe and Mail investigation found there were several cases of fatal or near-fatal incidents last year alone where 911 dispatchers could not determine the location of the caller.

The technology has been used in the United States since at least 2005, and in some cases the equipment needed is made in Canada. The Globe investigation found that a key impediment to updating the 911 system was a reluctance by regulators to impose a deadline, as the United States did, to end years of industry infighting on the issue.

“I thought that this would put the matter to rest,” Paul Godin, director of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, said Tuesday. “We are concerned about the safety and security of Canadians ... that's sort of our guiding light if you wish.”

The decision came Tuesday from CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein, Mr. Godin said. Further details of the plan will be made public next month.