Lost in 911-Land

If you need to call 911, the odds are good that you're going to want some emergency-response vehicle to find you. We've come to trust first responders' ability to find us when we call, even if we're unable to tell them exactly where we are. The GPS capability mandated in each new cell phone aids in the location process, though cellular carriers can still use signal triangulation to aid in caller location. The trouble is, a new study indicates that the accuracy of cellphone location information varies greatly from location to location. Cellular carriers can keep accuracy scores up because they're allowed to average over a wide area, but your mileage may vary--by a lot. A test in conjunction with your local emergency responders might be in order if you want to be sure.

For more on the 911 location study:
- Read the whole story at CIO-Today