9/10/03-Wisconsin cell phone users will pay a surcharge to help cover a federally mandated program allowing police to track 9-1-1 cell-phone calls under a bill the governor signed last month.
The monthly fee, which has not been set yet, will start in 2005 and be added to cell phone bills until 2008.
Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement AB61 will allow emergency personnel to respond more quickly when someone dials 9-1-1 from a cell phone.
Unlike emergency calls on landline phones, dispatchers currently do not have the ability to determine a cell-phone caller’s location, a task especially difficult on highways.
Local governments had been waiting for the state to pass the surcharge before moving ahead with the technology to trace cell phone calls.

6/25/03-The Senate unanimously approved a bill earlier this month clearing the way for an upgrade of 9-1-1 emergency services for cell phone users statewide.
AB61, which was returned to the Assembly, would provide funding for one 9-1-1 answering center in each county. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, would let the Public Service Commission set a monthly fee on the state’s 2.5 million cell phones to pay for the computer equipment and software to help pinpoint the location of cell phone users who dial 9-1-1.
For bill status, call (608) 266-1501. In Wisconsin, call 1-800-362-9472.