The Federal Communications Commission recently moved to improve 9-1-1 location standards by the year 2019. In their original report and order, the FCC allowed both network and handset location technologies to be used to locate a caller. The network technology uses a triangulation of sorts, while the handset uses a GPS chip in the phone. Many in public safety favored the handset to begin with, but the original order allowed carriers to choose their own means. That battle (like VHS vs. Beta) has pretty much played out, and the commission has been moving to improve the accuracy of location services over the years.
Read the latest updates at:
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0712/DOC-308377A1.pdf
