Remote E911 Testing via Location Emulation and Audio Bridging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for testing Enhanced 911 (E911) call routing are expensive, logistically challenging, and negatively impact cell service, particularly due to the need for physical testers at multiple cell tower locations, and face regulatory hurdles in implementing remote testing compliant with FCC rules such as RAY BAUM'S Act and Kari's Law.
Innovation Solution
Implementing remote E911 testing through location emulation and conference calling using a remote test agent that establishes two separate calls and creates an audio bridge, allowing a single tester to simulate calls from various locations without physical proximity to cell towers, thereby reducing logistical and financial burdens while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If physical testers are deployed to each cell tower coverage area to test E911 routing, then testing accuracy and location verification are improved, but testing cost and logistical complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses location emulation technology to create a virtual copy of the cell tower coverage area environment. Instead of physically deploying testers to each location, the system emulates the radio frequency environment and location characteristics remotely, allowing accurate E911 routing verification without the logistical burden of physical presence at multiple sites.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary emulation system that acts as a mediator between the tester and the actual cell tower coverage areas. This intermediary creates virtual representations of the target environments, enabling remote testing while maintaining the accuracy needed to verify E911 routing to the correct Public Safety Answering Points.
2Productivity
If multiple testers are deployed to different coverage areas simultaneously, then testing completeness is improved, but service disruption to cell towers increases
Solution Approach 1:
By creating virtual copies of multiple cell tower coverage areas through location emulation, the system enables simultaneous testing of numerous locations from a single remote position. This eliminates the need for multiple physical testers that would otherwise cause service disruptions at each site, while still achieving complete testing coverage.
3Device complexity
If remote testing is implemented to reduce tester deployment, then cost and logistics are improved, but regulatory compliance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The location emulation system creates accurate virtual representations of cell tower coverage areas, preserving the essential characteristics needed for regulatory compliance. By faithfully reproducing the radio frequency environment and location data, the remote testing method maintains the reliability required by FCC rules while achieving the cost and logistical benefits of reduced deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed technology teaches testing voice connection routing over 911 circuits as if voice calls originated from an E911 device in coverage areas of cell tower locations, without requiring a physical presence of the E911 device in each coverage area. A remote test agent audio bridge and tester originates a first call to a test user with a first phone number, creates a media bridge, emulates an E911-compliant mobile device to originate a second call to a 911 operator, relays audio over the media bridge as a verbal exchange between the first and the second calls, and logs an evaluation of the verbal exchange. The emulation includes spoofing a call origination from an origination location being tested, the spoofed origination location being within coverage of an originating cell.