GLONASS was selected because US systems don’t cover sufficient territory, according to Trey Forgety, National Emergency Number Association’s director of government affairs.
Forgety also states that GLONASS is much better than GPS to locate cellular phones when the call is made from inside a building.
Our government is truly run by the insane…or subversives. If we don’t have the proper system we should build it.
In a Jan. 21 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Rogers specifically questioned whether Putin might be able to use GLONASS “as a weapon” against the U.S., holding the 911 system “hostage” if he wanted.
He warned the U.S. could be poised to “disregard” the threat from Putin “so soon after Russia’s illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory” — a source of flaring tension between Russia and the United States.
But Brian Fontes, CEO of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) which is among the groups pushing the new plan, described such concerns as “scare tactics.”
“They are spreading rumors that we are relying on the Russian government and doing harm, and on its face it’s bogus,” he told FoxNews.com. “They are projecting all this on a system that may be up and running in the future. It’s hyperbole.”
NENA and CTIA-The Wireless Association also put out a lengthy statement Thursday afternoon rejecting the notion that Russia might be able to exploit such an arrangement. The statement said any combination of satellites would work, so adding GLONASS would not give Russia “any leverage over U.S.” 911 capabilities.
“Even if the GLONASS system were shut-down completely, handsets in locations with clear views of the sky could still calculate location estimates based solely on measurements of U.S. GPS satellite signals,” the statement said.
The FCC plans to hold a meeting on Jan. 29, where the proposal could come up. The agency is reviewing the 911 service in light of difficulties first responders sometimes have finding people who call from wireless phones indoors under the United States’ GPS system. Though the agency currently requires wireless providers to transmit location information to 911 call centers, there are still challenges in finding people — particularly in large, multi-story buildings. The FCC wants wireless providers eventually to be able to transmit more accurate information.
Retired Rear Adm. David Simpson, head of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, said in a statement the agency is “committed to protecting both public safety and national security as we continue to examine the input and issues in the proceeding, and will coordinate with our colleagues across the government to ensure that national security needs are addressed.”
He underscored the urgency of a 911 overhaul in a blog post last month.
“The vast majority of 911 calls are from mobile phones, and we are not where we need to be on location accuracy for wireless 911 calls,” he wrote. “This puts American lives at risk and requires swift action from the FCC, from wireless carriers, and from public safety officials.”
The four largest wireless carriers, joined by two public safety organizations including NENA, proposed the plan, which among other components suggests using Russia’s GLONASS satellite system to help locate 911 callers.
Fontes said the industry is interested in pursuing all manner of solutions for boosting location accuracy, including improved GPS, sensors and beacon technology — but using other countries’ capabilities should be on the table.
“If there is any proven — heavy on the word proven — and secure — heavy on the word secure — means of identifying where a 911 call is originating, I think any of those secure and proven systems should be considered by wireless providers,” he said.
Means more people out of jobs!