Customers who don't have GPS-capable phones may not be able to use enhanced 911 services with certain wireless carriers, a new study suggests. (Canadian Press)

Wireless providers must have the technology to locate Canadian 911 callers by next February, but most cellphone users won't be covered, a new study suggests.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission requires that wireless service providers have systems that provide emergency responders with the location of 911 calls made from a cellphone by Feb. 1, 2010. A number of Canadians have died after making 911 calls because the dispatcher could not tell where they were calling from.

A study released by the technology market intelligence firm IDC Canada Inc. this week estimates that as few as 30 per cent of wireless devices in Canada will be able to provide accurate location data to emergency responders by February of next year.

The report said based on guidelines released by the CRTC, enhanced 911 service won't be mandated for:

• People who have prepaid, pay-as-you-go cellphone service or unsubscribed phones.
• Foreign visitors using roaming cellphone service, including tourists attending the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
• People with certain handsets, especially older, cheaper ones, depending on their carrier.

"It's basically saying there's a whole, huge universe … whose location information won't be captured and transmittable," said Lawrence Surtees, vice-president of communications research and principal analyst for IDC Canada.

In addition, the study suggests there is no guarantee that carriers will meet the CRTC's location accuracy guidelines as the commission will not be doing accuracy tests. The guidelines require accuracy within 150 metres or 300 metres, depending on the technology used.

The report also criticized the guidelines for not requiring the ability to track a caller during the call, as may be required in the case of a kidnapping or abduction.

Overall, it said, the guidelines are "deficient" compared to the services currently provided to U.S. wireless users.

Surtees added, "It may be time that the CRTC take sort of firmer charge of this, take a more activist leadership role at setting very strong and clear implementation timelines, as well as policy and strategy going forward."

More than half of all 911 calls in Canada are now made from cellphones and about a fifth of cellphone customers are on prepaid plans, confirmed the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, which represents the industry.

95% of cell users will be locatable: CRTC

The CRTC disputed the findings of the study Tuesday, estimating that more than 95 per cent of cellphone users will get enhanced 911 service.

Prepaid, pay-as-you-go services, and roaming phones are not currently included in the guidelines because the CRTC is waiting for a report from a working group that includes the wireless industry about whether it is technically possible to include them. That report is scheduled to be delivered in August.

However, the commission said that as of Tuesday, there was no indication that including those services would be a problem and they may be added before the guidelines are implemented in February.

The CRTC admitted that it has a limited ability to enforce the new guidelines, as it has no fining powers, but expects emergency dispatchers to report any concerns once the guidelines go into effect.

Limitations apply: wireless industry

Bernard Lord, president and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, admitted that there will be gaps in the service regardless.

"There will still be some limitations," he said.

One is that there are two location technologies being rolled out, and it's up to the carrier to decide which to use in which parts of the country:

• Assisted GPS only works with handsets that have assisted GPS capability.
• Triangulation with multiple cell towers only works in parts of the country where there are multiple cell towers. In some places, there may only be one cell tower nearby.

If a carrier has decided to use assisted GPS technology, many customers who have older or cheaper phones won't have enhanced 911 service, Lord confirmed.

He added that consumers need to be aware of that when they choose what handset to buy.

Surtees said he is concerned that many Canadians might be slow to change handsets, as they may be reluctant to buy a new one while in the midst of a two or three-year contract with a particular wireless service provider.

Lord noted that even when location data is fairly precise, there can be complications. For example, triangulation cannot pinpoint what floor of a highrise tower someone is on.

He added that even though the wireless industry is spending millions to upgrade their systems, that's only half the equation.

"It's being done for the wireless providers across the country but not necessarily for the public safety agencies across the country," Lord said.

The association said wireless carriers are working to provide enhanced 911 for all wireless services, including prepaid, by February, but there are some complications.