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PAGE 16 FOCUS April 27, 2009 • lAw Times emergency services, the federal telecommunications regulator has ruled. As of February 2010, cell- phone companies will have to en- hance their networks so that when someone calls 911, the emergency dispatcher will be able to tell where the person in distress is located. "We were fully expecting a decision on that," says Marc Choma, a spokesman for the Canadian Wireless Telecom- munications Association, of the recent move by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecom- munications Commission. Th e decision follows years of debate on how to implement what most players agree is neces- sary for improving public safety. With 911 dispatch centres re- ceiving more than six million calls from cellphones a year, the need for a technological solution that ensures emergency respond- ers such as police, fi refi ghters, Wireless phone providers must upgrade 911 services W BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times ireless phone provid- ers will soon have to provide upgraded 911 and paramedics can actu- ally fi nd the caller is grow- ing, Choma notes. But getting there wasn't easy. In 2003, the CRTC launched the fi rst stage of improving 911 services on cellphones by requir- ing companies to forward emergency calls to the dis- patch centre nearest to the caller rather than to the lo- cation where the phone is registered. But since then, discussions on moving to the next phase that would more precisely locate where the caller is have become bogged down in debates over when to implement the requirement as well as who should pay for the upgrades. Th e CWTA ar- gued that completing the system by the end of 2010 wasn't feasible, according to CRTC documents. It also disagreed with ever, address circumstances in which someone calls 911 from a voice over Internet protocol phone. Th at scenario came under the public microscope last year when a Calgary tod- dler died after an ambulance ended up going to the wrong address. In that case, the child in Th e decision doesn't, how- Duncan Card says cost of complying with the CRTC decision will be significant. the CRTC's ruling that the companies — and likely their customers — should have to pay for the upgrades, instead arguing the money could come from fees collected during the federal government's recent wireless spectrum auction. over IP off erings is that resellers or service providers must notify distress was in Calgary, while emergency respond- ers went to the child's former family home in Mississauga. According to media reports at the time, the phone service provider didn't have the fam- ily's new address on fi le. As a result, the CRTC has been considering ways to improve safety protocols in such scenarios. But Da- vid Kidd, the head of the communications law prac- tice group at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Ottawa, says work to fi nd a tech- nological solution to that problem is ongoing. "Th e issues with local voice their customers clearly as to the nature and extent of the 911 ca- pability that they provide," he says. "Th e key here is notifi ca- tion because the off erings fre- quently do not allow the user or customer to have his geographic co-ordinates provided to the 911 dispatcher. Th at's because voice over IP telephones can be nomadic. Th erefore, you can take the phone with you and plug it in as you would your personal computer." But while noting that the Canadian Patent Reporter Edited by Marcus Gallie, Ridout & Maybee LLP Fourth Series (Volumes 1 to 65): Edited by Glen Bloom, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP First, Second and Third Series: Edited by Gowling, Strathy & Henderson Founding Editor: Gordon F. Henderson, C.C., Q.C., LL.D. CRTC and stakeholders are working on what Kidd calls a "complex matter," he notes as well that there are solutions for the meantime. "I don't consider that a huge problem," he says. "In most cases, people are able to actually speak and provide the necessary information." In terms of cellphones, mean- while, Choma points out that the new upgrades also aren't a pana- cea for all scenarios. In order to comply, carriers will have to rely either on global positioning sys- tems within the handset to locate the caller or use what is called tri- angulation, which essentially pin- points the location through the three nearest cellphone towers. But as Choma notes, GPS technology won't necessarily tell a 911 dispatcher which unit a sick person is in within a 50-sto- rey condominium. As a result, he says callers will still have to be prepared to tell emergency workers where they are. In the meantime, Duncan Let the experts help you to narrow your search and save you research time. Canadian Patent Reporter has been Canada's leading intellectual property law report since 1942. This renowned resource, available online and in print, includes precedent-setting intellectual property law judicial and board decisions from across Canada. This publication has a tradition of providing practitioners with the leading decisions on patent, industrial design, copyright and trade-mark law. Topical catchlines in bold print show the key issues involved. Expert case selection and headnoting are a tradition with Canadian Patent Reporter. Weekly updates via email and in print, plus an annual cumulative index volume, ensure that this publication continues to be the prime reference source for intellectual property case law. Includes eReports (weekly electronic pdf version) Stay current as cases are issued with eReports e-mailed weekly to your desktop, with topically indexed case summaries linked to the full text judgments. Order your copy today! Full service subscription (parts and bound volume) • $399 • 9 vol/yr P/C 0325094999 • ISSN 0008-4689 Card, a partner and national co- chairman for technology, out- sourcing, and procurement at Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto, notes the cost of complying with the CRTC decision will be signif- icant. "It has to be designed, the technology has to be put in place, and then it has to be implement- ed and tested," he says. "Th ere's [also] another cost layer of risk management because the entire telecom grid is like a bit of a jig- saw puzzle. You can add a new piece to the puzzle [but] you just have to make sure that it doesn't upset the other pieces when you bring a new technology in. It's not an inconsequential activity." At the same time, he ques- tions the appropriateness of the move coming as a result of a CRTC decision rather than through the direction of a polit- ical authority such as the minis- ter of Public Safety. "Th e weird thing that hap- pens is where regulators use their authority to almost make public policy decisions where that regulator doesn't have bud- get-allocation rights and au- thority," he says. "So they end up making good public policy decisions, but I'm not sure that's the body that should be making those decisions. Where is the minister of Public Safety?" Part of the issue, of course, is cost, something Card argues the government should at least consider helping the cellphone companies to cover. "Th e For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.263.2037 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. www.lawtimesnews.com CPR (LT 1-2x4).indd 1 4/22/09 12:02:21 PM LT0427 doesn't seem to me like it should be placed on the telecommuni- cations companies," he says. "Th is is really a broad public policy issue of health, safety, and security." allocation of funds LT

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