After five years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to wait for its vision of a nationwide wireless enhanced 911(E-911) service to materialize. To date, only about one-fourth of the states have implemented Phase I, which enables a dispatcher to tell which cell tower is closest to the emergency caller, while only a handful of cities and towns have launched Phase II, which guarantees 911 callers can be located within a few hundred feet.

"Frankly, we are disappointed that the process of making wireless E-911 a reality is not further along," Thomas J. Sugrue, chief of the FCC’s wireless telecommunications bureau, told a congressional subcommittee a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

All parties, the FCC, wireless carriers, and public-safety agencies, had agreed to have the system in place last October, but, so far, only about 5,000 emergency call centers can automatically pinpoint the location of a 911 wireless caller.

Many dispatch centers blame the delay on the lack of funds to upgrade 911 systems, while carriers complain of the lack of position-locating equipment and compatible handsets.

Despite the excuses, progress is being made: Sprint PCS and Verizon have begun selling Samsung’s E-911-enabled phone, and, by April, Verizon says 65 percent of its network area will be upgraded, but customers will only be able to access E-911 if their local dispatch center has upgraded its system.

But according to the larger carriers, Americans will have to wait another three years before their E-911-compatible cell phone can be considered a‘ true emergency tool.’