FCC clarifies cell phone GPS requirement

The Federal Communications Commission has  clarified a recent order that was widely misinterpreted as requiring all cell phones to have GPS by 2018.

Last month, the FCC issued an update to its E911 requirements, which some believed would require handset makers to address e-911 problems by making all their devices GPS-ready by 2018.

Because the number assignments and physical locations of cell phones often do not agree, calling in a 911 emergency on a cell phone case cause huge problems for emergency response organizations.

This weakness in the system has not only prevented businesses and homeowners from completely changing their phone systems to VoIP, but has also allowed pranksters to phone in hoax emergencies, wasting the time and resources of emergency organizations and possibility endangering lives.

The FCC’s ruling does not require GPS in new handsets, but does require makers to be able by that date to determine the location of a handset within a geographic radius of 50 feet. How that is accomplished–by built-in GPS or network enabling, is left to the handset maker, according to the FCC.