NENA defended the most recent recommendations by the Network Reli...

last month criticized the results of the NRIC working group (CD Sept 16 p5), of which both are members. APCO told the FCC its most-recent round of negotiations with the rest of the NRIC working group failed after “the wireless carriers have been unwilling to accept an accuracy requirement other than state-level,” despite APCO’s “significant concessions.” But NENA Pres. David Jones said in the letter the working group’s new clarified recommendations “would be of great benefit to public safety.” The most recent recommendations recognize that location measurement can’t be done at a PSAP level due to technological limitations, and provide for a “clearly defined process” to monitor carriers’ progress toward PSAP-based location measurement. The recommendations also include a requirement to adhere to specific trouble resolution and mitigation procedures. Jones stressed the importance of preserving the value of the existing recommendations: “Coupled with the important elements already contained in the NRIC 1A recommendations, further clarification… can only be thought of as a great benefit to the public safety community.” Jones also said E-911 was “truly a public-private partnership in which all parties must work together in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation. All parties will not agree 100% of the time, but we cannot tolerate an adversarial mentality. We must cooperate in the overall deployment of wireless E- 911, where only 50% of the PSAPs in this country are currently able to receive Phase II wireless 911 calls.”