BILL AIMS TO HALT BLOCKING OF 911 ON CELL PHONES.Byline: Wendy Tanaka San Francisco Examiner The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th Century. History 19th century The beginning of the Examiner is a topic of some controversy. A California congresswoman has introduced legislation that would allow cellular phone customers to call the emergency 911 phone number from any region in the country. The new legislation, introduced Thursday by Rep. Anna Eshoo Anna Georges Eshoo (born December 13, 1942) is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the 14th District of California, the heart of Silicon Valley (see map). , D-Palo Alto, would require the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. to prohibit cellular phone companies from blocking consumers' access to 911 services. Currently, cellular firms in many regions of the country won't put through emergency calls when a cellular phone subscriber is calling from outside his designated service area. ``Cellular phone companies should not in essence hang up on consumers when they need help the most,'' said Eshoo, who serves on the House Commerce Subcommittee sub·com·mit·tee n. A subordinate committee composed of members appointed from a main committee. subcommittee Noun on Telecommunications and Finance. ``Public spectrum should be used for public purposes. Because safety is one of the major selling points selling point n. An aspect of a product or service that is stressed in advertising or marketing. Noun 1. selling point - a characteristic of something that is up for sale that makes it attractive to potential customers of cellular phones, it is essential that access to 911 be available to everyone.'' Eshoo said most cellular firms in the state have stopped blocking 911 calls after a California woman was shot and wounded when a cellular firm blocked her emergency call because she dialed from outside her service region. However, Eshoo noted there are many areas of the country that still block callers who aren't subscribers to their networks. Cellular phone companies electronically determine whether a caller is a subscriber in their territories. In cases where calls are blocked, if a caller can't be identified in the system, the emergency call doesn't go through. Bay Area cellular providers said Eshoo's bill won't affect them. ``For us, it's not an issue because we don't block any 911 calls,'' said Erin Eggleton, a spokeswoman for South San Francisco-based Cellular One. San Francisco-based AirTouch Communications also said it doesn't have limitations on 911 calls. ``We provide 911 when (customers) are roaming The ability to use a communications device such as a cellphone or PDA and be able to move from one cell or access point to another without losing the connection. ,'' - calling the emergency number from outside a cellular calling zone - said AirTouch spokeswoman Amy Damianakes. Since October 1994, the FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. has been reviewing a wide range of issues related to wireless 911 calls, including whether cellular networks should be upgraded. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion