The FCC document summarizes the key points of the FCC's Fourth Report and Order regarding improving 911 location accuracy for wireless calls. The order adopts several measures: 1) requiring dispatchable location or 50m horizontal location accuracy for an increasing percentage of calls over time; 2) requiring barometric data and developing z-axis accuracy metrics; 3) revising Phase II accuracy testing and requiring confidence and uncertainty data and live call data from carriers; and 4) selecting six cities for compliance testing to represent different geographic areas. The order aims to significantly enhance indoor location accuracy while also strengthening existing outdoor location rules.

1. 9-1-1 Location Accuracy
and FCC’s Fourth Report and Order
Rolf Preuss, ENP, FPEM
Project Manager

2. “In this Fourth Report and Order, we adopt measures
that will significantly enhance the ability of Public Safety
Answering Points (PSAPs) to accurately identify the
location of wireless 911 callers when the caller is indoors.
We also strengthen our existing E911 location accuracy
rules to improve location determination
for outdoors as well as indoor calls.”

3. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Table of Contents

4. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Indoor Location Accuracy Requirements
E911 Location Accuracy Requirements
Incorporation of Roadmap and Parallel Path
Dispatchable Location
Horizontal Location Information
Vertical Location Information
Improving the delivery of Phase II location
Information
Latency – Time to first Location Fix
Retaining E911 Phase II Accuracy Standards for Outdoors
Confidence and Uncertainty (C/U) Data
Provision of Live 911 Call Data

5. In the Third Further Notice, the FCC proposed
establishment of an indoor location accuracy
test bed for demonstrating compliance and
asked about other approaches.
NENA, APCO and the four national providers
submitted the Roadmap agreement.
The Parallel Path proposes slightly different
benchmarks for non-nationwide providers.
FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Roadmap and Parallel Path

6. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Dispatchable Location
“In the Third Further Notice, we identified the
delivery by CMRS* providers to PSAPs of
“dispatchable address” information as a long-term
objective to improve indoor location. While we
proposed indoor accuracy requirements based on
x/y/z coordinate information, we noted that public
safety needs would be better served if PSAPs could
retrieve the caller’s building address, floor level
and suite/room number”
* Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS)

7. Dispatchable Location
FCC Definition:
A location delivered to the PSAP by the CMRS provider
with a 911 call that consists of the street address of the
calling party, plus additional information such as suite,
apartment or similar information necessary to
adequately identify the location of the calling party. The
street address of the calling party must be validated
and, to the extent possible, corroborated against other
location information prior to delivery of dispatchable
location information by the CMRS provider to the PSAP.

8. Dispatchable Location
What does this mean?
The familiar coordinate format:
27.894127, -82.789527
Will change to:
10750 Ulmerton Rd, Bldg 1, Suite 180A, Room 201
and still be delivered in the familiar ALI format

9. Dispatchable Location
Dispatchable Locations must be validated with
local databases, just like they are for wireline
customers.
This process will eliminate location mismatches
like the “registered address” on VoIP phones

10. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
E911 Location Accuracy Requirements
Horizontal Location
• All CMRS providers must provide (1) dispatchable
location, or (2) x/y location within 50 meters, for the
following percentages of 911 calls within the following
timeframes, measured from the effective date of rules
adopted in this Order (“Effective Date”):
– Within 2 years: 40 percent of all wireless 911 calls
– Within 3 years: 50 percent of all wireless 911 calls
– Within 5 years: 70 percent of all wireless 911 calls
– Within 6 years: 80 percent of all wireless 911 calls
Compliance will be measured
on actual 911 call data.

11. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
E911 Location Accuracy Requirements
Vertical Location
• All CMRS providers must also meet the following
requirements for provision of vertical location
information with wireless 911 calls, within the following
timeframes measured from the Effective Date:
– Within 3 years: All CMRS providers must make
uncompensated barometric data available to PSAPs from
any handset that has the capability to deliver barometric
sensor data.
– Within 3 years: Nationwide CMRS providers must use an
independently administered and transparent test bed to
develop a proposed z-axis accuracy metric,
and must submit the proposed metric to
the Commission for approval.

12. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
E911 Location Accuracy Requirements
Vertical Location
– Within 6 years: Nationwide CMRS providers must
deploy either (1) dispatchable location or (2) z-axis
technology that achieves the Commission-
approved z-axis metric, in each of the top
25 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs).
– Within 8 years: Nationwide CMRS providers must
deploy dispatchable location or z-axis technology in
accordance with the above benchmarks
in the top 50 Cellular Market Areas.

13. Cellular Market Areas
1. New York--Northern New Jersey--
Long Island, NY--NJ--CT--PA CMSA
- 21,199,865
2. Los Angeles--Riverside--Orange
County, CA CMSA
- 16,373,645
3. Chicago--Gary--Kenosha, IL--IN--WI
CMSA
- 9,157,540
4. Washington--Baltimore, DC--MD--
VA--WV CMSA
- 7,608,070
5. San Francisco--Oakland--San Jose,
CA CMSA
- 7,039,362
6. Philadelphia--Wilmington--Atlantic
City, PA--NJ--DE--MD CMSA
- 6,188,463
12. Miami--Fort Lauderdale, FL CMSA
- 3,876,380
21. Tampa--St. Petersburg--Clearwater, FL MSA
- 2,395,997
28. Orlando, FL MSA - 1,644,561
45. West Palm Beach--Boca Raton, FL MSA
- 1,131,184
46. Jacksonville, FL MSA - 1,100,491
73. Sarasota--Bradenton, FL MSA - 589,959
83. Daytona Beach, FL MSA - 493,175
84. Lakeland--Winter Haven, FL MSA - 483,924
88. Melbourne--Titusville--Palm Bay, FL MSA
- 476,230
95. Fort Myers--Cape Coral, FL MSA - 440,888
100. Pensacola, FL MSA - 412,153
United States Census Bureau, 2000 Census
A Cellular market Area is used by the FCC to define cellular license areas and which
consists of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Rural Service Areas (RSAs).
IT Law Wiki

14. Federal Communications Commission, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division

15. Federal Communications Commission, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division
Cellular Market Areas (CMAs)

16. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Reporting and Compliance Measures
• “Compliance with the above metrics will be determined
by reference to quarterly live 911 call data reported by
CMRS providers in six cities and their surrounding areas
that have been determined to be representative of
dense urban, urban, suburban, and rural areas
nationally.”
• “PSAPs will be entitled to obtain live call data from
CMRS providers and seek Commission enforcement of
these requirements”
San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver/Front Range, Philadelphia, and Manhattan Borough, New York City

17. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Improving the delivery of Phase II location information
“In addition, we revise our regulatory framework for
all 911 calls, both indoor and outdoor, as follows:
– We adopt a 30-second limit on the time period
allowed for a CRMS provider to generate a location fix
in order for the 911 call to be counted towards
compliance testing with existing Phase II location
accuracy requirements that rely on outdoor testing,
but we do not extend this provision to the new
indoor-focused requirements adopted in this order.”

18. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Improving the delivery of Phase II location information
– “We require that confidence and uncertainty
data for the all wireless 911 calls – whether
placed from indoors or outdoors – be delivered
at the request of the PSAP, on a per-call basis,
with a uniform confidence level of 90 percent.”
“Confidence and Uncertainty (C/U) data reflects the level of
confidence that a specific 911 caller is within a specified distance
of the location that the carrier provides. Confidence is expressed
as percentage, indicating the statistical probability that the caller
is within the area defined by the “uncertainty” statistical
estimate, while uncertainty is expressed as a radius
in meters around the reported position. “
Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

19. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Improving the delivery of Phase II location information
– “We require that confidence and uncertainty
data for the all wireless 911 calls – whether
placed from indoors or outdoors – be delivered
at the request of the PSAP, on a per-call basis,
with a uniform confidence level of 90 percent.”

20. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
Improving the delivery of Phase II location information
– “We require CMRS providers to provide 911 call
data, including (1) the percentage of wireless 911
calls to the PSAP that include Phase II location
information, and (2) per-call identification of the
positioning source method or methods used to
derive location coordinates and/or dispatchable
location, to any requesting PSAP. Compliance with
the 30-second time limit will also be measured from
this data. “
– “We require all CMRS providers to collect and retain
for two years 911 call tracking data for all wireless
911 calls placed on their network.”

21. FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER
In Summary
E911 Location Accuracy Requirements
Incorporation of Roadmap and Parallel Path
Commitments
Dispatchable Location
Horizontal Location Information
Vertical Location Information
Improving the delivery of Phase II location
information
Latency – Time to first Location Fix
Retaining E911 Phase II Accuracy Standards for Outdoors
Confidence and Uncertainty (C/U) Data
Provision of Live 911 Call Data

22. References
• Fourth Report and Order
FCC 15-9, PS Docket No. 07-114, January 29, 2015
• Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
FCC 14-13, PS Docket No. 07-114, February 20, 2014
• Title 47 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20
• NENA Master Glossary of 9-1-1 Terminology,
NENA-ADM-000.18-2014, July 29, 2014

23. Thank You for Your Time
Rolf Preuss
Project Manager
(407) 205 - 4603
rdp@emsolutionsllc.net
www.emsolutionsllc.net