When Wireless Technology Fails Emergency Responders

A recent survey by the Find Me 911 coalitionsuggests emergency dispatchers in the U.S. face difficulty tracing the location of wireless calls. Concerns over the ability of cell networks to report the location of mobile phones in emergencies have existed going back many years, but these results (if you trust the method used to obtain them) suggests the industry still has a long way to go.

Here's one particularly chilling account from an emergency responder in Missouri, USA: Received a 911 from a cell phone with an open line. It was a female that sounded as if she had her mouth gagged. She was getting beat [and] even her dog was being hurt. The lat/long came to an abandoned building in St Louis City... Could not pinpoint her location, and her phone died. She was never found.

Fly-Fi

Fly-Fi is the trademark name for JetBlue Airways in-flight Wi-Fi service. JetBlue is hardly the first airline to invest in such a service, but the company has focused on both the network technology (a form ofsatellite Internet) and marketing promotion in attempts to position theirs as the best. In particular, Fly-Fi networks offer high capacity, supporting high-definition streaming video and other data-intensive applications simultaneously for many passengers on board.

In-flight Wi-Fi services have been slow to get off the ground (heh) due to cost of building the infrastructure, and the practical reason that many travelers would rather sleep on a plane than stay connected. JetBlue's base service is planned to remain free until June, at which time we should learn more about where Fly-Fi is headed (heh).