Res. No. 958 Title Resolution calling on the Federal Communications Commission to advance the date by which all cell phones must have the technology to provide exact location information when a call is made to 911. Body By Council Members Baez, Clarke, Comrie, Felder, Foster, Jennings, Liu, Lopez, Monserrate, Nelson and Weprin Whereas, As indicated at a recent hearing of the Public Safety Committee, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") implemented regulations that require all wireless phone carriers that employ a handset-based location technology to provide subscribers with phones that pinpoint the exact location of the user when a call to 911 is made; and Whereas, Pursuant to these same regulations, this technology must be implemented and available to all subscribers no later than 2005; and Whereas, As also indicated at recent Public Safety Committee hearings, the New York City Police Department ("NYPD") is already capable of receiving such vital information at its public safety answering center, and the NYPD has requested that wireless carriers begin providing this service; and Whereas, Thus, in the City of New York at this time, the only missing link in providing exact location information about wireless callers to 911 is the availability of this technology to all wireless subscribers by their carriers; and Whereas, As demonstrated by the tragedy off the coast of City Island in January, where four young men needlessly lost their lives, such technology is life-saving; and Whereas, The City Island tragedy resulted from, among other issues, the inability of the public safety answering center to pinpoint the exact location of the call because the phone did not have the technology installed to transmit such information; and Whereas, With the NYPD now able to receive such information, it is incumbent upon carriers to ensure that such life-saving technology be available in each of their phones and the FCC should do all it can to make this happen as quickly as possible; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the Federal Communications Commission to advance the date by which all cell phones must have the technology to provide exact location information when a call is made to 911. TB:ml LS#2496 5/20/03 ?? - 2 -