FCC Mandates Text-to-911 From All US Wireless Carriers

An anonymous reader writes "On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to require all U.S. wireless carriers and popular messaging applications to support texting to emergency response units via 911. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile implemented this capability back in 2012; the FCC's vote will make it mandatory for all carriers that operate in the country as well as all messaging applications that interconnect with the SMS structure in the U.S. to follow suit. One technological hurdle this mandate faces is the difficulty of tracing "the exact physical origin of a text message, particularly in residences with multiple floors."" Somehow I doubt that cellphone calls are consistently traceable to that degree, either, and I've lived in houses with extensions spread over several floors, too.

Comments

text is easier to give addresses

[AndroSyn]

I think in some regards being able to send an SMS in an emergency, with important details like the exact address(including quadrant in cities like Washington DC). There are often cases in DC where they send an ambulance or something to the correct street address but the wrong quadrant and end up being 5 miles away from where they need to be.

Re:text is easier to give addresses

[AndroSyn]

GPS doesn't help so much when you are in an apartment building with 50 units.

Re:text is easier to give addresses

[Anonymous Coward]

So now they will have to decipher poor grammar, spelling and punctuation before sending help.

Re: text is easier to give addresses

[kenh]

As opposed to the clear, concise descriptions the 911 operators currently get from people in car accidents, house fires, home invasions, etc.

I'm not worried about operators deciphering the 'txt speak' so much as I am worried that when a person finds themselves in an emergency situation, like, say, a choking child, precious time will be lost as the parent decides how to contact 911, then struggle to enter the proper address in a text message because they think that might cause a quicker response from the first-responders...

Re:text is easier to give addresses

[stephanruby]

I think in some regards being able to send an SMS in an emergency, with important details like the exact address(including quadrant in cities like Washington DC).

They should just let users send direct Facebook/Google+/Twitter messages to 911.

This way, they'll know what you had for breakfast this morning and who to call in case the initial gps address isn't enough.

Carriers aren't the weak point

[PvtVoid]

The problem is that local emergency infrastructure is incapable of handling the technology. Every call 911 from a cell phone, for example, in New York? You get sent to a centralized, state-wide call center, and the first thing they ask is: "What town are you in?" Then they manually route you to an emergency center nearby. They have no infrastructure to use the location info from your phone, despite the fact that it has been mandated in the cell phones themselves for many years. People have died because of this, but there is no funding to upgrade the system.

You can make the phones as high-tech as you wish, if you don't back it up with government funding for the corresponding infrastructure, it's completely useless.

Re:Carriers aren't the weak point

[jbolden]

Look at your phone bill there is a 911 charge on it. There is funding.

Re:Great!

[Gavagai80]

What carrier changes you for 911 phone calls? You don't even need a SIM card to make a 911 call.

Re:Great!

[Trepidity]

Yeah it's actually kind of common for charities to collect donations of old phones without service, to give to people who they worry might be at risk of needing an emergency call (women at battered-women's shelters, etc.). Any phone with a functioning radio that dials 911 has to be accepted by the carrier it tries to connect to, even if it has no valid account associated. Even applies to GSM phones with no SIM at all (as you mention), and to phones with blacklisted ESNs.

Useful for low-coverage areas

[bill_mcgonigle]

Lots of places can get a text through where voice calls will fail. Especially if you're down in a ravine off a road in a marginal area.

Now then, I've had a cell phone for 18 years and nothing has changed (regarding coverage gaps - the bills have gone way up). Curious that the FCC is just noticing this now - maybe one of the Commissioners left the metropolis for a few days.

Changing nature of 911

[kenh]

911 calls are by nature a conversation, a two-way exchange of details from the caller and suggestions from the operator as the situation unfolds. That will (likely) be lost in a text exchange - what parent will keep texting 'she's not breathing, she's turning blue' to 911 when they are standing by their choking child?

It's a good idea

[slincolne]

Having a family member recently ill with a chest infection, and completely unable to speak (but able to email, SMS, etc.) - its a great idea.