Litui.Net

It seems there may be more to this whole e911 issue than Rogers is letting on.

By way of Carson Brown comes a link to Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-40: Implementation of wireless Phase II E9-1-1 service. Phase I, defined in 2003, provides ILECs (Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers, aka ‘local telephone companies’) a 911 caller’s location cell within the mobile network and phone number. Phase II E9-1-1 service appears to be the evolution of that technology given the prevalence of GPS in mobile phones:

The level of information required by Telecom Decision 2003-53 is referred to as Phase I. Phase II, which has not yet been widely implemented in Canada and is the subject of this decision, provides PSAPs with Phase I information plus more accurate longitudinal and latitudinal (X,Y) information regarding the location of wireless E9-1-1 callers.
- CRTC 2009-40/Introduction/2

Further, this technology requires that GPS functionality be automatically enabled:

automatic enabling of cell phone Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality where GPS technology is being used; – CRTC 2009-40/Issues/I/7

This is subdivided into two stages of implementation:

1. “Provision of X,Y coordinate information and location system parameters that PSAPs use to determine a caller’s location.” – CRTC 2009-40/Issues/I/7
2. “Provision of mid-call location updates, plus provision of wireless Phase II E9-1-1 service for roamers and unsubscribed handsets, to be deployed as technology solutions become available.” – CRTC 2009-40/Issues/I/7

While no strict timeline appears to have been defined for Stage 2 implementation, Stage 1 is very clear:

All WSPs are to complete their respective implementation of wireless Phase II Stage 1 E9-1-1 services by 1 February 2010, wherever wireline E9-1-1 service is available across Canada. – CRTC 2009-40/Issues/III/20/3

So it seems that not only has Rogers fallen behind on its ability to provide even a basic Phase I level of wireless e911 service on the HTC Dream and Magic, but they are treading the borderline of failing to meet Phase II Stage 1 implementation timeline demands by the CRTC (and other interested parties) as well.

This might give insight as to why Rogers decided to disable data in late January for HTC Dream and Magic users before their deadline came up, and why they have become increasingly persistent in their warnings, even to the point of hijacking all outbound calls.

This may also explain some of Rogers’s misgivings about non-standard firmwares as the degree of compliance of 3rd party software to the Phase II requirements can’t be accounted for by Rogers.

As far as I can tell, however, there is no provision either in the CRTC file or by Rogers themselves for 3rd party hardware. If an unlocked phone from a 3rd party doesn’t support Phase II Stage 1 e911 services, what is the process? Will this regulation allow wireless carriers to lock out “unauthorized” hardware?

In light of this information, certain answers given by @RogersMary make a lot more sense:

@bradarsenault Not sure. I know we don’t support unlocked or rooted phones b/c we can’t guarantee how they device will work on our network.
@mcantelon Hi. We can’t support rooted/unlocked phone b/c we don’t know how those devices work on our network. Custs should d/l the bug fix.
@4Lou We cannot support unlocked devices b/c we can’t guarantee how that will impact the device on our network.
…

The above has been the standard line and has been perplexing to many of us who understand that rooted and unlocked phones as such do not interfere with the network. If the firmwares are simply not known to work with Phase II Stage 1 e911 services and Rogers is required to have phones on their network comply, however, it makes more sense.

What does this mean for the future of modded phones and even ordering unlocked (standards-compliant) handsets from out-of-country? Will they be subjected to the same restrictions?

Why can’t we simply waive our right to Phase II e911 and have this issue solved?

Of note also is that the payment model for e911 services (eg: that they are paid for by the wireless providers) has not changed, and it’s possible we will see an increase in costs on account of this implementation.

Thanks again to Carson for the link. It provides much to consider.

Updates

2010-02-10 @ 3:00 PM – Rogers Waiver

Posted by Joniel, not 10 minutes ago, a link to a new 911 waiver form for HTC Dream and Magic customers who refuse to “upgrade”.

I really have to wonder if this (fairly well viewed) post had any impact on the decision, but I guess I’ll never know.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Business, Politics, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.