Virgin Mobile USA, which plans to resell wireless services provid...

network operator in U.S. in 2nd quarter. U.K.-based Virgin told agency that because it wasn’t FCC licensee and didn’t have its own wireless network facilities, E-911 requirements for automatic location identification (ALI) didn’t apply. “Nevertheless, as a demonstration of its good faith interest in providing E-911 Phase 2 ALI to its customers,” Virgin said it was “voluntarily” providing E-911 report to FCC. Virgin said that as new U.S. wireless provider targeting “low-end” prepaid customers, it must offer very competitive pricing of both service and equipment to develop market share. Handset-based assisted-GPS (A-GPS) system that Sprint is using for E-911 Phase 2 capability uses handsets “that are among the most expensive customer units on the market,” Virgin told Commission. “Moreover, at this time, A-GPS-enabled customer units are not available to Virgin.” Before Virgin can begin selling such handsets to customers, company said equipment has to be more widely available and cheaper so there’s not “tremendous price differential” between handsets with and without this capability. Virgin said it plans to begin selling and activating A-GPS-enabled handsets Feb. 15, 2003, ensuring at least 25% of all new handsets activated after June 30, 2003, have A-GPS capabilities. At least 50% of handsets sold after Sept. 30, 2003, will have this capability, with 100% target set for March 31, 2004. End date for ensuring all handsets activated are GPS-enabled reflects same benchmark that Commission set for Verizon Wireless in its E-911 Phase 2 waiver, Virgin said. Virgin also said it isn’t altering Dec. 31, 2005, date for ensuring 95% of all subscriber handsets in service are ALI-capable.