State works to expand cell phone tracking for 911 calls

Missouri lacks funding for the $40 million expansion.

By Juana Summers

Published Nov. 2, 2007

Although the entire state of Missouri has 911 coverage, only about 25 percent of the state has the ability to track the location of 911 callers who use their cell phones.

Missouri State 911 Coordinator R.D. Porter said police can locate a caller who calls from a landline phone in most of the state.

Missouri's 911 system has been able to track landline calls since 1976.

"We've had 30 years to develop wire line coverage," he said. "We still have 18 counties that do not have wire line 911. That means we cannot identify the location of a caller."

Since 1994, when wireless services became popular, states have worked to be able to track 911 calls that originate from cell phones.

"We've done a statewide assessment," he said. "They think it would take about $40 million to bring the state up to the standards where it should be."

Porter said there currently is no mechanism for that

funding.

"That's the primary reason the governor this year requested that the legislature put together a committee and take some action in this issue," he said.

In Missouri, more than 80 counties are unable to track the locations of calls that originate from cell phones, according to the Statewide 911 Assessment, commissioned by the Missouri Office of Administration.

Gov. Matt Blunt commissioned a special committee led by Rep. Mark Bruns, R-Jefferson City, that met over the summer and held hearings across the state on the issue.

Bruns was unavailable to comment on the issue.

James McNabb, director of the Public Safety Joint Communications in Columbia — which services all of Boone County, Columbia and the surrounding county — said the center has been at the forefront of improving emergency call services.

"We're the frontrunners of that thing," he said. "We are one of the first counties in the state that had the capabilities to receive that. We were one of the first in the state without ever having to purchase any extra equipment as a county."

Boone County's 911 services are Phase II compliant, which means they are able to track the locations of calls made by wireless customers.

The Public Safety Answering Point and Dispatch Center, the 911 call center, is funded by a landline 911 fee through Boone County taxes, McNabb said.

"We physically moved our locations about seven years ago," he said. "When we relocated, we purchased new equipment, including new radios and new telephone systems."

The center is located in downtown Columbia.

McNabb said the new purchases can be attributed to prior planning that allowed the county to look forward to future use.

"This was all included in our new construction project," he said. "Throughout the years, we've continually kept it current and updated as a matter of maintenance. It's not free by any stretch of the imagination, but it has always been included as a budget item for us."

McNabb said the state of Missouri should focus on new forms of technology, such as Voice Over Internet Protocol, also known as broadband telephone service. The center is working toward the ability to track calls made by these types of phones.

"We're now requiring any VOIP solutions in the area to work with our 911 service provider," he said.