My last post discussed the advantages and advancements of femtocells, devices that look like wireless routers but in fact are more like your own personal cell tower. I mentioned that it was very important to properly connect the GPS, but I did not explain why.
Over 50% of 911 calls placed last year were dialed from mobile phones. FCC rules require carriers to be able to provide approximate location of subscribers to public safety officials when 911 calls are placed. Without femtocells, this is done with a combination of methods that typically relies to some extent on the cell tower that the mobile phone is communicating through.
When calls are placed using femtocells, however, that traditional reference is lost. Enter the femtocell GPS. When your femtocell detects that you are placing a 911 call, it has the capability of sending its GPS location to public safety officials to provide them with your location. Without a good GPS fix, not only would you have to provide your public safety official with your address, but your call may not be routed to the public safety answer point in your area, increasing delays in getting assistance to you.
For this reason, always ensure that your femtocell has a good GPS signal. Many will indicate this with a light on the front panel next to the power and network connectivity. Placement of the femtocell is also important. The closer it is to a window, the better coverage it will have to see GPS satellites to gain its position fix. Most femtocells come with external GPS antennas and long wires in the event that your broadband connection is not near a window. If you are unsure if your femtocell has a GPS fix, please contact your carrier’s technical support line.
As a side benefit, most location based services can also use this information when determining your position. In testing with Sprint Airave, the phone was within a few meters of the reported position, an awesome feat for most cell phone location technologies.
