FCC: PSAPS Must Be Capable Of Receiving 9-1-1 Texts

Written by KOVA Corp

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski addressing public safety officials in Arlington, VA. last month, spoke about the need to adapt to modern communication:  “It’s time to bring 9-1-1 into the digital age.”

Genachowski went on to say he would initiate a proceeding to gather public opinion how best to transition from current emergency communications to broadband-enabled, Next Generation 9-1-1.

21st Century Emergency Communication

These comments come hard on the heels of recent announcements by the FCC concerning the need to increase location accuracy for emergency calls originating from wireless devices. Currently, location technology is able to detect location of calls made outdoors, but is often unable to give similar information for indoor calls. Since the majority of 9-1-1 calls are made on mobile devices, there is a significant gap in emergency response communications.

According to Genachowsky, “The current 9-1-1 system is efficient and reliable—handling more than 650,000 calls a day. But today’s 9-1-1 system doesn’t support the communication tools of tomorrow. Many 9-1-1 call centers don’t even have broadband, and some are in communities where broadband isn’t even available. That is unacceptable.”

Of those 650,000 9-1-1 calls made each day, 450,000 are made on mobile phones.

“Even though mobile phones are the device of choice for most 9-1-1 callers,” continues Genachowsky, “and we primarily use our phones to text, right now, you can’t text 9-1-1.”

Genechowsky brought his message home to his Arlington audience. He cited the Virginia Tech shootings as a case in point – as the tragedy was unfolding, students tried to text 9-1-1, but those messages were never received by emergency dispatchers.

Call For 9-1-1 Texting Controversial

But providing support for 9-1-1 texting is not welcomed by all. To some the format is not ideal for communicating with 9-1-1 dispatchers. Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas, is hesitant to see texting become a means of contacting 9-1-1 operators. “While we understand the desire to use SMS [short message service] to contact 9-1-1, SMS has significant limitations and shortcomings that do not make SMS suitable for emergency communications, especially under life-threatening conditions.”

Social Media And 9-1-1: The Expectations and Realities

Despite Pearson’s concerns, the reflexive use of social media by a majority of the American public has a serious impact on how they respond to emergency situations. Many teens and young adults are unaware that they can’t reach out to 9-1-1 dispatchers using texts or social media.

The American Red Cross recently issued a study of the ways modern digital communication affects the ways Americans attempt to contact 9-1-1. The results found that:

  • 69% of respondents felt that public safety officials should actively be monitoring social media sites
  • 49% of those queried thought that dispatchers already respond to such messages anyway
  • 100% of responders expected swift response to an online request for assistance
  • 74% expect emergency assistance to arrive within an hour

The Future

Realizing the overwhelming need to adapt to current communication platforms, for Genachowski the way forward is not in dispute: “While the need for action is clear, modernizing 9-1-1 raises complex challenges that will take not only time, but also significant coordination. We need the help of our federal, state and local partners, public safety, lawmakers, communications and broadband service providers, and equipment manufacturers to develop a national framework for Next-Generation 9-1-1 services across the nation. FCC staff recognize the importance of this work and what it takes and continue to work diligently with all interested parties to move this initiative forward.”

 

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