Verizon Wireless said it is in the midst of fixing a glitch brought to its attention by Phase II-enabled public-safety answering points that in some instances causes voice calls placed from global positioning system-enabled handsets to fade in and out during the first several seconds of a call.
Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said the problem is associated with a Qualcomm Inc. chipset that, in certain situations where it cannot quickly locate a GPS satellite, cycles a handset’s resources between trying to locate a satellite and providing a clear call.
“Qualcomm is aware of the situation, and we are working with them to mitigate the problem,” Nelson said, adding that the PSAPs that are effected by the problem are aware of the glitch and are currently dealing with it by telling the caller to wait until the cycling process is complete and the handset locates a GPS satellite. Nelson said he was not aware of any emergency situation made worse by the problem.
Sprint PCS, which also uses the Qualcomm chipset, was previously made aware of the cycling issue and has reportedly already taken steps to fix the glitch.
