Upgrade 911 service, mobile companies told
p2pnet news view | Mobiles:- The CRTC says Canada’s antiquated 911 system must be updated, with February next year as the deadline.
911 dispatchers must be able to locate cellular calls in an emergency, says the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
“Calls for the immediate improvement and enhancement of 911 related technical and operational standards reached a crescendo recently, following reported instances of accidental death in cases where 911 could not be reached immediately, or in which the caller could not be located,” MediaCaster notes, going on:
“In the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, for example, 18 year old Matthew Armstrong called 911 four times pleading for help.”
He was lost in woods trying to find his way home and his frozen body was found hours later, says the story.
Existing 911 services use the position of the cellphone tower nearest to the caller, says DigitalHome, adding:
“As such, emergency responders are only able to determine if a caller is in a sector within the area served by the tower, and not a specific area or location.”
Using wireless-location technology such as Global Positioning System or triangulation technology, “the enhanced features will mean emergency responders will be able to receive a caller’s location generally within a radius of 10 to 300 metres,” it says.
MediaCaster – Wireless 911 Services Must be Upgraded: CRTC, February 4, 2009
DigitalHome – CRTC: Mobile phone companies must upgrade 911, February 5, 2009
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