Intrado finishes NYC E911 trial

Intrado, which provides E911 services to VoIP carriers, says it did a successful trial of location-based E911 in New York City last month. Company execs say the trial used several technologies to pinpoint wireless VoIP callers, and that no single technology is foolproof (GPS, which requires a view to the sky, is unreliable in places where the sky is often obscured--like New York City). Even when the technology works, it yields latitude and longitude information, which is lots less helpful than something like "200 West 42nd Street, Apartment 1325." We'll be meeting with Intrado next week and we'll try to get more details about the trial, its limitations and where the mobile E911 technology is--and can--go.

For more information about the Intrado trial:
- read this article from CIO