This week, at their annual convention in Tampa, officials of the National Emergency Number Association told NENA members that a compromise is on the table concerning rival wireless E911 reform legislation in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

The big difference between the bills is the level of federal funding public safety answering points would receive each year to upgrade to Phase II compliance. (The FCC's Phase II mandate requires wireless carriers and PSAPs to provide location information for 911 calls placed by wireless phone subscribers.) The House wants to provide $100 million while the Senate thinks $500 million is more appropriate.

NENA President Richard Taylor predicted the compromise would be somewhere in the middle, perhaps a little below $250 million. While Taylor acknowledged that $250 million "won't get the job done" -- it has been estimated that the cost of bringing the nation's PSAPs to Phase II compliance will be as high as $8 billion -- he said all the right things when I spoke with him this week. "When we heard that a compromise was on the table, we were excited," he said, calling the $250 million "seed money." NENA's hope is that Congress will take note of the public-safety sector's effective use of the monies and increase the annual contribution in the future.

While Taylor needs to play politics in this matter, I do not. So I'll say what I think Taylor deep down would like to say: You've got to be joking.

The Bush Administration thinks it's a good idea for Congress to appropriate untold billions to put an astronaut on Mars, yet lawmakers can't find another $250 million per year for PSAP upgrades. I think the space probes and telescopes are doing just fine; let's keep humans on earth, where they belong, and funnel more money to public safety, which sorely needs it.

There are numerous stories floating around about how location information saves lives. One of my favorites is one that Taylor himself often tells, and which I have recounted previously in this space. One night in North Carolina, Taylor's home state, an automobile accident occurred and the car fell down a ravine, eventually coming to rest on its roof on a set of train tracks. Because the driver subscribed to OnStar, the 911 emergency call center was able to capture the location information, which was automatically transmitted when the air bag deployed.

Knowing that a train was scheduled to go through the area soon, the dispatcher was able to contact the proper authorities and get the train stopped, averting a much greater tragedy. One person died in the wreck, but three were saved precisely because the PSAP was Phase II compliant. Another important point: Because the car landed in a ravine and because it was night, it would have taken first responders hours to find the accident scene absent the location information because the vehicle wasn't visible from the road.

I suppose one could argue that the compromise is akin to a child asking for a pony for his birthday and receiving a new bike instead -- it's not a bad deal. But I think the better analogy is this: Giving PSAPs $250 million in annual funding is like asking someone to travel cross country by train when they could be traveling by jet. They'll get there eventually, but the trip will take far too long.

E-mail me at gbischoff@primediabusiness.com.