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In an emergency situation, it is crucial that emergency services know the location of the calamity as quickly as possible, so that they can respond promptly. European regulations require that the location of a mobile caller must be transmitted when dialling 112. This location information can come from either the mobile network or the device, as available. An important question is how precise this location information should be. This study aims to determine what a feasible and proportional requirement for this precision could be.
Background
Dutch legislation currently specifies that location information based on the mobile network must not deviate by more than 5 kilometers for 85% of calls. The advanced Dutch mobile networks can easily meet this requirement.
Since the implementation of this regulation, technological advancements have enabled mobile networks to determine a caller's location more accurately. Moreover, the majority of devices now support transmitting locations to emergency services. Device-based location determination is generally much more accurate than network-based location determination. Most other European countries now have stricter requirements than the Netherlands, based on a combination of network-based and device-based location determination.
Findings
The research indicates that the Dutch requirement for location determination in mobile emergency calls could be tightened in several ways:
- The Netherlands could establish a new standard for location determination by mobile networks, using current technological advancements. This would mean a maximum deviation of approximately 900 metres (for at least 85% of calls). Alternatively, the new standard could be based on what the networks can currently achieve, resulting in a maximum deviation of around 700 metres (for at least 85% of calls).
- The Netherlands could set a more 'functional' standard, taking into account the enhanced accuracy made possible by device-based location determination. Alignment with the requirement in other European countries seems logical, allowing a maximum deviation of 50 metres for at least 80% of calls, based on the combination of device and network-based location determination.
The mobile operator has no control over device-based location determination (apart from forwarding location reports and configuration) - as this function is implemented by the device provider. Therefore, it is questionable whether the obligation can be imposed on operators. As an alternative, standards could be set for both mobile networks and devices.
Network-based location is generally less accurate than device-based location, but device-based location is not always available. Therefore, an important question when formulating the standard is determining the desired accuracy from the networks. Achieving higher accuracy requires investments in mobile networks. With investments of several million euros per operator, it is possible to increase the accuracy of network-based location determination (to approximately 280 metres for 80% of calls, as estimated). To further enhance accuracy, much larger investments would be necessary.
Next Steps
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is currently assessing whether and how the standard for location determination in mobile emergency calls should be tightened. The European Digital Networks Act is relevant in this context, as it also requires location information to be transmitted during emergency calls, but does not specify a concrete standard. It is conceivable (but not certain) that the final concrete standard will be determined at the European level.
