If we can get Amber Alerts, Emergency Weather notifications and more to our phones, then why has it taken so long for us to be able to text an emergency to 911? As of today, a number of location are up and running to support communities via text versus a phone call. It certainly makes sense. There are a number of petrifying situations where texting is easier, quicker and safer than placing a phone call. Not to mention individuals with speech conflicts or those that might be deaf.
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are all on board and agreed to have things in place by May 15th to support this service. The quarterly report filed in April said everything was on track, so we have no concerns that anyone is dragging their feet on this one. Unfortunately the additional service will take some time to become available across the nation due to software and system upgrades that need to be installed in the 911 call centers. The FCC has a running list of locales that all have the service enabled already.
Trey Forgety, director of government affairs at the National Emergency Number Association, told ABC News, “It’s always preferable to make a voice call to 911. Call if you can, text only if you can’t.”
If your location doesn’t support the service yet, your message will be bounced back as undeliverable. It is also recommended, and pretty much common sense, that you should text the emergency and your location before hitting send.
I am sure there will be plenty of people that abuse the service, much like they do now with calls, but you can certainly bet they will be watching and hefty fines and arrests will take place if you fool around.
Source: ABC / FCCÂ / AndroidPolice
