Independent Industry Testing Validates NextNav's Superior Indoor Positioning Solution for E911 Mobile Calls

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 14^th, the FCC-chartered Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council ("CSRIC") approved the final report of the results from its independent field trial of indoor wireless location technologies for E911, during which NextNav LLC demonstrated the superior performance of its technology in accurately locating users in challenging indoor environments in both the horizontal and the vertical dimensions. 

Although the FCC has long required wireless carriers to locate E911 mobile callers who are outdoors, there are no standards for E911 mobile calls from indoor locations, where mobile calling is dramatically increasing. The CSRIC test bed was designed to determine the ability of various technologies to accurately locate mobile E911 callers in challenging indoor environments.

The trial tested the performance of location systems across urban, suburban and rural areas in the San Francisco Bay Area.  More than 13,000 test calls were placed from various tested technologies in 75 different indoor locations selected by participating Public Safety organizations from around the country.   Results were scored for horizontal and vertical accuracy, speed of location, and reliability and consistency of results.  NextNav was the only technology capable of reporting a valid height or altitude estimate, with a median height error of 2 meters, enabling floor-level positioning.  NextNav's horizontal accuracy results were also impressive, reducing first responder "search rings" by 90%.

"Our ability to precisely identify the exact building, or an adjacent building or parking garage, more than 80% of the time across the most challenging indoor environments represents a significant advance for mobile E911 location," said Ganesh Pattabiraman, Founder and President of NextNav.  "We also believe our unique ability to deliver floor-level height accuracy, particularly for urban residents, is revolutionary.  When these capabilities are adopted they will save lives, decrease emergency response times, and provide consumers the certainty of emergency location they expect when calling 911."

According to the CSRIC, "As wireless usage increases and as more people are using cell phones indoors (or have abandoned the usage of landline phones altogether) it is becoming clear that the need to accurately locate wireless users in indoor environments is increasing."  CTIA, the Wireless Association, has reported that nearly 400,000 mobile E911 calls are placed daily.  The FCC itself has noted that more than 70% of all E911 calls are placed from wireless devices.

About the CSRIC Work Group and Indoor Location Trials

Chartered by the FCC to create an information base from which indoor location accuracy standards for E911 could be established, the Communications Security, Reliability, Interoperability Council (CSRIC) Working Group 3 (WG3) consists of technology vendors, public safety organizations, and the major U.S. wireless carriers.

To see summary results for the trials, please see: www.nextnav.com/resources#csr

To read the Public Safety Forward, please see: www.nextnav.com/resources#psf

To read the full CSRIC Test Bed Report, please see: www.nextnav.com/resources#fullcsric

Additional information can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/communications-security-reliability-and-interoperability-council-iii

About NextNav

NextNav is deploying a revolutionary positioning technology to allow mobile phones and other devices to reliably determine their location in indoor and urban environments where GPS signals can't be received.  NextNav's technology combines accurate horizontal positioning with floor-level height precision.  Delivered over a managed network with carrier-grade dependability and metropolitan-wide coverage, NextNav's positioning services are designed for E911, public safety and emergency response as well as the multitude of consumer and commercial applications that require precise indoor location accuracy.  Based in Sunnyvale, CA and McLean, VA, NextNav is working with the Public Safety community and major technology partners to embed its capability into new GPS chipsets and mobile phones.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.nextnav.com.

SOURCE NextNav