iPhone Enhances 911 Location Availability in Move NENA Says Will Help NG-911

Former FCC chairmen heralded Apple's Monday announcement it will include RapidSOS technology in iOS 12 to quickly send more accurate location information to 911 call centers, which National Emergency Number Association President Rob McMullen said will accelerate next-generation 911 deployment. It's "a very significant announcement heralding a material shift forward in emergency response capabilities,” former FCC Chairman Dennis Patrick, an adviser to RapidSOS, told us. “The FCC has itself estimated that enhanced location information accurately and immediately communicated can save up to 10,000 lives annually.”

“When we developed the mobile location standards, I asked why Uber could get to my home with precision, but the best we could do was 50 yards 80 percent of the time in six years,” former Chairman Tom Wheeler told us. “When I left, I was contacted by RapidSOS and liked what they were doing so much that I invested.”

Apple said it will use RapidSOS’ IP-based data pipeline to securely share Apple’s hybridized emergency location (HELO) data, which determines position based on cell towers and on-device sources including GPS and Wi-Fi. It will exceed the FCC 2021 requirement that carriers locate callers within 50 meters at least 80 percent of the time, it said. The new iOS, supporting iPhone 5S and later, will be available as a software update this fall.

Communications Director Bob Finney of the Collier County, Florida, sheriff's office tested the tech and said he hopes other smartphone makers follow. We interviewed him and others, who were among the only people Apple permitted us to contact before the company's announcement.