OTTAWA - Wireless service companies have been given a year to introduce new technology allowing 911 operators to pinpoint the location of a cellphone caller during an emergency.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission had announced a deadline last month for the upgrades to the 911 system after a number of cases in which people died because they couldn't tell operators where they were and dispatchers had no way of pinning down the position of their phone.
On Monday, the federal regulator outlined rules that will require cellphone carriers such as Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B), Telus Mobility (TSX:T) or Bell Mobility (TSX:BCE) to locate a wireless 911 call to within a radius of 10 metres to 300 metres on most calls.
The moves over the next year should bring Canada's 911 system up to changes that were made years ago in the United States and other parts of the world.
Under Canada's current system, emergency operators can only determine a caller's phone number and the location of the nearest cellphone tower. That puts the caller somewhere within the area served by the tower, which could cover a radius of up to four kilometres in urban areas and 20 kilometres in rural areas.
The CRTC said it's giving cellphone carriers until next February to fix the problem. It said the technology for the vital upgrade exists and simply has to be installed.
It said some locations will get the improved service even before the deadline.
"With more than 20 million wireless subscribers in Canada, it is imperative that emergency responders can quickly and accurately locate those who use their cellphones to call 911," said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC.
"I am pleased that the industry has come forward with a technical solution, and that there is now nothing standing in the way of the implementation of enhanced 911 features. The safety and security of Canadians will be greatly improved as a result."
The industry says it has been getting ready for the change for some time.
"It's going to be a challenge, but this is not a big surprise for us," said Bernard Lord, president of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.
"The CRTC says we have to make the deadline and the members in the industry will do everything they can to make the deadline," said Lord, former Conservative New Brunswick premier.
New location technology such as Global Positioning System will be able to locate the caller's location within a radius of 10 to 300 metres.
Even cellphones without GPS capability can be pinpointed to the same accuracy by triangulation from several towers.
Lord said the improvements will also require responding agencies and municipalities to make complementary changes to their systems.
"They'll need to make some major investments to make sure that the information that we provide once we're ready, that they can use it to dispatch someone."
The upgrades will be done in stages across the country over the next year. Under the CRTC plan, the industry and emergency dispatch officials must submit a schedule for the proposed changes by May 4.
