The Importance of Locating Wireless 9-1-1 Calls Indoors

April 19, 2012

Sara Kaufman Analyst, Telco Strategy Ovum

Agenda
Indoor Location a Growing Problem Solutions Exist Today The FCC Should Act Now Get Involved

Presenters
Trey Forgety, Government Affairs Director, NENA Mr. Forgety is an association executive and telecommunications attorney with experience in FCC, NTIA, DHS, and White House policy making. He has a detailed knowledge of public safety telecommunications issues. Sara Kaufman, Analyst, Telco Strategy, Ovum Ovum has been studying the global telecommunications industry for more than 30 years. Sara Kaufman brings a decade of technology experience with a current focus on the telecommunications market and regulatory trends. Dr. Rash Mia, VP of Technology and Chief Scientist, TruePosition Dr. Mia is a leading global expert in wireless location technology, and he holds numerous US and international patents. He has more than 20 years of experience developing complex signal processing systems.

Trey Forgety Government Affairs Director NENA

A Growing Problem
Ovum forecasts the number of wireless subscribers in the US to be 358

million in 2012. By 2016, the number of wireless subscribers will grow to 425 million.
According to the CTIA, over 296,000 wireless calls are made to 9-1-1

every day.
According to the FCC, it is estimated that about 70 percent of 9-1-1 calls

are placed from wireless phones, and that percentage is growing.

According to the FCC, one quarter of all households have now stopped

their landline service and solely use cell phones to communicate.

A Growing Problem
In a 2010 study, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

indicated that the number of American homes with only cell phones continues to grow.
More than half of adults aged 2529 years (51.3%) live in

households with only cell phones.

Nearly half of all adults renting their home (47.1%) had only cell

phones.
Nearly one of every six American homes (15.9%) makes all or

almost all calls on cell phones despite having a landline.

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Sara Kaufman Analyst, Telco Strategy Ovum

FCC Phase II Mandate

FCC docket opened in 1994 (94-102) In 2001, location accuracy standards were established by

the FCC
Handset-based solution given more time than network-based

(up to 5 years) for deployment, but held to more stringent accuracy rules
50m for 67% of calls 150m for 95% of calls Network-based solution required quick deployment (within 6-18

months), but held to less stringent accuracy rules

100m for 67% of calls 300m for 95% of calls
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FCC Phase II Mandate Wireless Carrier Responses

Major wireless carriers ran extensive trials of various technologies.

Major CDMA carriers chose a handset-based solution

(A-GPS)
Major TDMA carriers (that later transitioned to GSM)

chose a network-based solution (U-TDOA)

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Overview of Major 9-1-1 Location Methods

Assisted-Global Positioning System (A-GPS)
A-GPS uses a chip within the mobile

phone to receive signals from orbiting satellites

Assistance data is provided by the

cellular network to improve the time to first fix

Does not work well indoors or in

cities with tall buildings due to line of sight issues

Not all cell phones are GPS-enabled

(legacy phones, etc.)

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Overview of Major 9-1-1 Location Methods

Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA)
Calculates a location based on multiple time difference of arrival measurements Measurements are made from highly sensitive Location Measurement Units (LMUs) located at or near cell sites Measurements are sent to a central node that calculates the location
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Recent and Proposed FCC Rule Changes

Phase II Rule Changes (January 2011) Accuracy measured at a county-based geographic level Carriers permitted to use trending of uncertainty data (after establishing baseline accuracy) Carriers permitted to blend handset- and network-based results Single accuracy requirement after 2019 Carriers must perform periodic testing in place of trending uncertainty data Specific testing rules will be defined by the Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) Indoor results excluded; new requirements apply to outdoor calls only Proposed indoor location requirements Proposed accuracy testing definitions and standards

Phase II Rule Changes (July 2011)

Proposed Rule Changes (July 2011)

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Still Work to be Done

Despite the FCCs ongoing improvements and clarifications,

there is still work to be done

Lack of indoor accuracy standards represents a big gap in the

current FCC mandate

Current FCC rules fail to address the critical needs There is a significant and growing number of wireless callers who use their wireless phone primarily indoors The number of US households that use cell phones as their primary or only phone service is rapidly increasing

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Common Misconceptions About Wireless Location

Misconceptions Reality

A-GPS is a sufficient solution A-GPS has limited for wireless location performance indoors There is no technological solution available today An A-GPS/U-TDOA hybrid location solution currently exists There are methods currently available to efficiently and cost-effectively conduct indoor testing

Indoor testing is too timeintensive and expensive

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Dr. Rash Mia Vice President of Technology and Chief Scientist TruePosition

Location Testing Methodology

Goal: Test real world accuracy of network-based (U-TDOA) and handset-based (A-GPS) location technologies Parameters: Real world testing conducted in Wilmington, DE Hundreds of wireless test calls made 50 per test point Multiple measurements and ground truth collected for each test point A-GPS and U-TDOA calls performed simultaneously Implementation: Placed wireless emergency 9-1-1 calls Performed tests using both indoor and outdoor test points
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Location Testing Test Points

Test points selected to represent a variety of environments and conditions.

222 Delaware Avenue Wilmington, DE

4755 Ogletown-Stanton Rd Newark, DE

26 Karlyn Drive New Castle, DE

100 Continental Drive Newark, DE

6000 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE

1790 West Newport Pike Wilmington, DE

750 Library Avenue Newark, DE

3400 North Market Street Wilmington, DE

17 West Main Street Newark, DE

320 Duport Highway Newcastle, DE

100 South French Street Wilmington, DE

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Location Testing Outdoor Call Results

N A-GPS U-TDOA Hybrid (Selection) Hybrid (Weighted) 550 550 550 550

67% 12.8m 40.4m 12.8m 12.5m

90% 36.0m 90.9m 32.3m 29.3m

95% 72.3m 102.4m 60.1m 59.9m

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Location Testing Indoor Call Results

N A-GPS U-TDOA Hybrid (Selection) Hybrid (Weighted) 752 752 752 752

67% 621.2m 62.7m 57.7m 57.2m

90% 1451.8m 98.6m 88.8m 88.8m

95% 2140.0m 122.0m 108.2m 107.7m

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Location Testing All Points, Blended Call Results

N A-GPS U-TDOA Hybrid (Selection) Hybrid (Weighted) 1302 1302 1302 1302

67% 220.8m 55.1m 40.9m 40.5m

90% 1093.8m 95.6m 75.0m 74.4m

95% 1461.9m 112.1m 95.7m 95.4m

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Sara Kaufman Analyst, Telco Strategy Ovum

Ovum Analysis of Location Testing Results

FCC benchmarks for % of calls Handset based accuracy requirements Network-based accuracy requirements 67% 50m 100m 90% 150m 300m 95% Separate rules will sunset after 2019

Note: Current FCC requirements apply to outdoor accuracy measurements only. A-GPS outdoor results A-GPS indoor results A-GPS blended results all test points U-TDOA outdoor results U-TDOA indoor results U-TDOA blended results all test points Selection hybrid outdoor results Selection hybrid indoor results Selection hybrid blended results all test points Weighted hybrid outdoor results Weighted hybrid indoor results Weighted hybrid blended results all test points 13m 621m 221m 40m 63m 55m 13m 58m 41m 13m 57m 41m 36m 1451m 1094m 91m 99m 96m 32m 89m 75m 29m 89m 74m 72m 2140m 1462m 102m 122m 112m 60m 108m 96m 60m 108m 95m Best Better Adequate Inadequate

Meets mandated outdoor accuracy requirements

Does not meet mandated outdoor accuracy requirements 22

Conclusion
Locating wireless 9-1-1 calls indoors remains a growing problem A-GPS has limited performance indoors An A-GPS/U-TDOA hybrid solution, which exists today, accurately

locates cell phones indoors

There are methods currently available to efficiently and cost-

effectively conduct indoor testing

To ensure the optimum safety of US citizens, the FCC must move

forward with their proposed indoor location requirements

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Get Involved
Visit www.trueposition.com/ovum to download the Ovum white paper, which provides more information about the research results Visit the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) to provide your thoughts and on this growing indoor location issue Here is the link: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/display?z=vsc5. Be sure to reference Docket Number 07-114

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Questions and Answers

Trey Forgety, Government Affairs Director, NENA Dr. Rash Mia, VP of Technology and Chief Scientist, TruePosition Sara Kaufman, Analyst, Telco Strategy, Ovum

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The Importance of Locating Wireless 9-1-1 Calls Indoors

April 19, 2012