[Two approaches have been approved by the FCC: cell station based and
   subscriber unit based.  The subscriber solution (e.g., GPS or
   triangulation from synchronized broadcast TV color-burst) is much
   preferred as it places control of the handset and therefore, possibly,
   the end user.  If the end user does get control it would enable
   interesting applications (e.g., location escrow authenticated by an
   imbedded tamper-proof smart chip which could be encrypted to a user key
   within the phone).]
   Public safety agencies urge quick rollout of wireless location services
   By BOB BREWIN
   (September 27, 2001)
   With a Monday deadline looming, three national public safety
   organizations want the Federal Communications Commission to stop
   granting waivers and extensions to cellular communications companies
   that would allow them to miss the long-mandated start date for E911
   wireless location services.
   The agencies said the FCC should hit carriers that miss the deadline
   with "serious penalties" for noncompliance.
   The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. -- and the heavy use of
   cellular networks by the public and rescue workers, including
   jury-rigged automatic location systems in New York -- make it difficult
   for the FCC to grant new waivers for a system that it first envisioned
   in 1996, said Jim Goerke, wireless implementation director at the
   National Emergency Number Association in Columbus, Ohio.
   The Sept. 11 attacks have helped focus attention on the importance of
   wireless emergency contact information, Goerke said, adding, "[The
   cellular carriers] have had a lot of time to get this together."
   While the FCC hasn't indicated how it will act, analysts expect it to
   take a strong stand. The chances of continued leniency by the
   commission "are about equal to everyone being a winner in Las Vegas,"
   said Alan Reiter, an analyst at Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing in
   Chevy Chase, Md.
   The technology isn't perfect, but it does exist, said Reiter. The
   cellular industry has been engaged in "legal stalling," a tactic that
   won't work in the postattack world, he said.
   Full story at
   <[1]http://www.idg.net/crd_idgsearch_2.html?url=http://www.computerworl
   d.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO64274,00.html.html>

References

   1. http://www.idg.net/crd_idgsearch_2.html?url=http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO64274,00.html.html