Shaila Dewan has a good piece in this morning’s Times, describing difficulties less-affluent communities are having upgrading the 911 systems – and the attendant consequences.
The piece includes an excellent description of the various flavors and vintages of 911 systems. One particularly useful feature in the newer systems
At the next level is Enhanced 911 Phase I, as it is called, which provides the call-back number of wireless callers and the location of the cellular tower their signal has reached. Phase II provides a more precise location, accurate within 50 to 300 meters depending on the technology the carrier has chosen.
[Kevin J. Martin, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said in Washington this week that he would propose new rules to improve accuracy.] [in orig.]
Experts are laying the groundwork for what they call Next Generation 911, which will better handle Internet-based calls, text messages, cellphone photos and other forms of communication already in common use.
“Deaf people are using text messaging,†Rick Jones, the operations director for the national association, said by way of example. “They can’t talk to 911.â€
For now, though, many counties are focused on Phase II, which shows a caller’s location on a computer map, allowing emergency responders to find people who either do not know where they are or cannot say. Beyond saving lives, it promises to put a stop to chronic prank callers or tell dispatchers when many calls are coming from the same area, which happens when multiple cellphone users try to report the same car accident or heart attack, threatening to overload the system.