August 6, 2009 - 2:16am
In a move to provide more options to get connected to 911 service an emergency call center in the basement of the county jail in Waterloo, Iowa, is testing texting system when SMS messages are sent to 911 to inform about the accident. Call centers across the US are also looking to adopt similar solution.
"I think there's a need to get out front and get this technology available," Black Hawk County police chief Thomas Jennings said.
He noted that 911 texting should be of particular help to the county's deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, who have had to rely on more cumbersome methods to reach 911. Besides, there have also been several cases around the country of kidnap victims summoning help by surreptitiously texting friends or relatives, who then called 911. With direct texting to 911, they should be able to get help faster.
Meantime, as John Snapp, senior technical officer of Intrado, which upgraded the call center, says calling will remain the preferred way to reach 911 while 911 is a useful complement. He says that a lot of kids already think they can text 911.
Only subscribers to i wireless, that affiliates with T-Mobile USA, can avail themselves of the service and only within Black Hawk County. Those on other carriers will get a reply saying they need to call 911 instead.
Yet, the service still needs some improvements as call centers will not be able to determine a location of the caller. i wireless subscribers who text 911 will get a reply asking them for the city or ZIP code they're in. If the response corresponds to the Black Hawk County call center's area, the text messages goes through to an operator. Otherwise the texter is told to call 911.
"I think there's a need to get out front and get this technology available," Black Hawk County police chief Thomas Jennings said.
He noted that 911 texting should be of particular help to the county's deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, who have had to rely on more cumbersome methods to reach 911. Besides, there have also been several cases around the country of kidnap victims summoning help by surreptitiously texting friends or relatives, who then called 911. With direct texting to 911, they should be able to get help faster.
Meantime, as John Snapp, senior technical officer of Intrado, which upgraded the call center, says calling will remain the preferred way to reach 911 while 911 is a useful complement. He says that a lot of kids already think they can text 911.
Only subscribers to i wireless, that affiliates with T-Mobile USA, can avail themselves of the service and only within Black Hawk County. Those on other carriers will get a reply saying they need to call 911 instead.
Yet, the service still needs some improvements as call centers will not be able to determine a location of the caller. i wireless subscribers who text 911 will get a reply asking them for the city or ZIP code they're in. If the response corresponds to the Black Hawk County call center's area, the text messages goes through to an operator. Otherwise the texter is told to call 911.