Public safety agencies had a challenging year in 2018. However, despite emergencies ranging from category 4 hurricanes to mass shootings to uncontrollable wildfires, police, firefighters, and EMTs unfailingly responded to protect communities and prevent deaths. Assisting first responders in these endeavors are technologies that continue to evolve to meet the distinct needs of the public safety community. Advances have been made in all fields: from protective gear to weaponry and from transportation to communications. Public safety communications in particular has grown quickly, with government and industry actors playing a large part in technology advancements. In a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing posted in October 2018, the National Emergency Number Association stated that 2018 represented a “watershed moment for public safety communications.” They went on to mention commitments by tech giants, the buildout of the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN or FirstNet), cloud-based computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, and more—all advancements that are pushing a “revolution in public safety technology and communications.” These statements were made in the context of the FCC’s deliberation in establishing a vertical accuracy, or z-axis, location metric.

Why is z-axis so important? Wireless network operators and device manufacturers vary in their ability to provide a latitude and longitude location to 911 from a caller in distress. In a densely populated metropolitan area, for example, with a high-rise building on each corner of a major intersection, the “blue dot” on the map may put the caller in front of one of those buildings (generally in 911 centers, it displays the location in the center of the intersection). It most likely will not plot the caller directly in front of the correct high-rise and l definitely will not indicate which floor the distressed caller is in, which is problematic when a caller is unable to identify his or her precise location.