If you have not heard about the December deadline yet for mobile providers, then you might have to consider yourself ill-informed. Just in time for the holidays, mobile providers have a difficult to meet deadline that is supposed to make sure that their phones will be able to track down those people calling 911 for assistance. Not going to happen, folks. Simply not enough time. and of course, I say this as Nextel seems to be lagging…

Nextel Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:NXTL - news) plans to ask for a waiver from a December deadline that 95 percent of its customers’ wireless phones be capable of identifying the location of a caller to emergency personnel.

Nextel, being acquired by the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON - news), said it will ask the Federal Communications Commission for the waiver, according to a July 26 letter made available on Monday.

The FCC set Dec. 31 as the deadline for 95 percent of all wireless handsets to be able to pinpoint the location of a caller to 911 emergency services. Nextel said it could take up to an extra two years to reach that goal. [Read the rest]