Sprint Starts Selling e911 Phone

Although it previously said it could not meet the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) October 1 mandate for e911 service, Sprint PCS said Monday that it has started selling a e911-compliant phone.

Specifically, the company said it has started selling Samsung’s SPH-N300 GPS-enabled phone, which it said will “support future location-based and e911 emergency services as they become available on the Sprint PCS network.”

In the meantime, the phone will operate as a normal wireless phone, according to Sprint.

Even though it hasn’t yet made e911 services available, Sprint still bragged that it was the first U.S. wireless operator to offer an E-911-compliant phone. Part of the problem, however, is that the wireless functions of the e911 system must be rolled out by public safety agencies.

When that happens, Sprint said in a statement, the phone will support their technology. The company also promised commercial location-based m-commerce services in the future, although it gave no timetable.