You've probably heard that when dialing 911 from a cell phone, the carrier has to put the call through whether or not you subscribe to their service, but have any of us actually tested or even confirmed it? Don't just take our word for it, hear it straight from the horse's mouth and learn the unique challenges associated with this and how the FCC handles them.
According to the FCC, the huge popularity and convenience of cell phones means that approximately "70 percent of 911 calls are placed from wireless phones". The convenience of having a cell phone on you at all times wherever you are is an important factor in owning one and helps justify the expense. However, that same mobility also creates a problem:
Since wireless phones are mobile, they are not associated with one fixed location or address. While the location of the cell site closest to the 911 caller may provide a general indication of the caller's location, that information is not usually specific enough for rescue personnel to deliver assistance to the caller quickly. - FCC
The FCC has three basic rules that apply to "all wireless licensees, broadband Personal Communications Service (PCS) licensees and certain Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) licensees."
- The FCC's basic 911 rules require wireless service providers to transmit all 911 calls to a PSAP, regardless of whether the caller subscribes to the provider's service or not.
- Phase I Enhanced 911 (E911) rules require wireless service providers to provide the PSAP with the telephone number of the originator of a wireless 911 call and the location of the cell site or base station transmitting the call.
- Phase II E911 rules require wireless service providers to provide more precise location information to PSAPs; specifically, the latitude and longitude of the caller. This information must be accurate to within 50 to 300 meters depending upon the type of location technology used.
The FCC provides a list of tips for helping you get the fastest response in case of an emergency when calling from a cell phone.
- Tell the emergency operator the location of the emergency right away.
- Provide the emergency operator with your wireless phone number, so if the call gets disconnected, the emergency operator can call you back.
- PSAPs currently lack the technical capability to receive texts, photos and videos.
- If your wireless phone is not "initialized" (meaning you do not have a contract for service with a wireless service provider), and your emergency call gets disconnected, you must call the emergency operator back because the operator does not have your telephone number and cannot contact you.
- To help public safety personnel allocate emergency resources, learn and use the designated number in your state for highway accidents or other non life-threatening incidents. States often reserve specific numbers for these types of incidents. For example, "#77" is the number used for highway accidents in Virginia.
- Refrain from programming your phone to automatically dial 911 when one button, such as the "9" key, is pressed. Unintentional wireless 911 calls, which often occur when auto-dial keys are inadvertently pressed, cause problems for emergency call centers.
- If your wireless phone came pre-programmed with the auto-dial 911 feature already turned on, turn this feature off. Consult your user manual for instructions.
- Lock your keypad when you're not using your wireless phone. This action prevents accidental calls to 911.
- Consider creating a contact in your wireless phone's memory with the name "ICE" (in Case of Emergency), which lists the phone numbers of people you want to have notified in an emergency.
READ MORE:
•FCC: Wireless 911 Services
MORE ON WIRELESS & 911 SERVICES ON APARTMENT THERAPY
•Convenient or Crazy? Texting 911 for Emergencies
•What To Do With Your Old iPhone? (Or Other Smartphone)
•Good Question: Cell Phone Only, or Keep the Landline, Too?
•Moving Survey: Do You Have a Land Line?
•LA Survey: Have You Given Up Your Land Line Phone?
(Images: 1. Shutterstock, 2. Shutterstock)
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Thank you. Good to know.
Also, know that you can't use Skype or most VOIP programs to call 911. Something I used as leverage at Verizon when my cell phone wasn't getting service...
I've had occasion to call 911 many times. I have to disagree with the advice "learn the designated numbers" for incidents. Dispatchers aren't going to assume you know what you're talking about, and will have to use precious minutes clarifying. The main thing you want to remember is to speak clearly, slowly, and don't talk over the dispatcher. For example: There's been a three-car accident with (serius) injuries on Hwy 8 westbound near the Oak Street exit"...pause and wait for questions. Breathe. The dispatcher has three crucial pieces of information to plug in, and you are off to a good start.
My husband and have iPhones and no home phone. Our 4 1/2 year old son knows to call 911 in an emergency, but knowing how to get to the phone keypad on his own was not so easy. I mentioned this to my husband and said I wondered if there was an app for that. Sure enough, there are multiple apps that do just that. We installed one on each of our phones (same app for both of us) and put it in the same place. Now hopefully our son will know what to do if there is ever an emergency.
Not saying "don't do it" - there's no harm, and it may well be used at the hospital later, but as a firefighter / paramedic, I can say I've never seen someone on scene look for a cell phone to check the "ICE" details - we stabilize, treat, and get the patient going to the hospital, anything else is extraneous.
Great information. I agree with Chromablue -- ICE reference appears logical but has very little value. Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) have one goal: To help save the victim. They are almost always stressed for time as during an emergency, every second counts. While they focus on helping the victim, they do not have time or any justifiable reason to call the ICE contact. Read more about "ICE" debunked at: http://blog.ICEcare.net.
@Rural and rueful
I think the "designated numbers" is a number to call, not a number to tell the dispatcher. #77 is a shortcut for calling the VA highway POPO.
Chromablue & Chirag... so maybe it's not useful for the emergency personnel immediately on the scene... but as a single person who lives 10 hours from my family, and has an agreement with a friend in the city here with me, to be each other's emergency contact - I like to think that I'm in a horrible accident that a kind nurse would look into my my personal belongings and call my mom and my brother who listed under ICE - and possibly contact my 'Most frequently called" friends and let them know I'm dying or something.
Maybe that's not how it works. But it ought to.
The only problem with ICE is that my phone's contact list shows my mom asr ICE because the numbers are the same...
AFAIK you can dial the emergency numbers even on an locked keypad. 911, 112 (GSM standard)
I cannot test it (don't dial through...), because i use an smartphone, but as far i remember my old Mobiles behave like this.
Rootgar, you can, at least on the iPhone. When it gets to my "Enter Passcode" screen, there's a button for "Emergency call."
Oops, sorry, I see you were talking about standard phones. Well, in any case. :)
The emergency personnel at the scene may not have time to scroll through your phone, but often in the emergency room the nurses use it as a resource to contact family if we have limited (or no) information and the patient is unable to give any information (like if they're unconscious).
I had to call 911 recently and even though I was calling from my home, the cal went to the wrong county and the 911 operator transferred my call to the county I resided in. It all worked out!
My phone has a handy little feature which enables me to dial 911 without unlocking the keypad. Yeah, it's so handy that I can call 911 just by putting my phone in my pocket. It's happened on more than one occasion. My 4-year-old has also called 911. I'm pretty sure that in an emergency, the dispatcher will probably say, oh, it's her again; just ignore it.
FYI !! It is possible to dial 911 with the key pad locked. It is a federal requirement. Also, if the phone is inactive and has a charged battery it can call 911.. Please dispose of the batteries. I get too many kids playing on used cell phones because it can dial 911. I know I am that 911 dispatcher that gets the calls. And MOST IMPORTANTLY, know your location. Thanks.
I tried to program an "ICE" contact in my iPhone but got annoyed that every time my mother, sister or husband called me it would say "Mom or ICE", "Jenni or ICE", etc... So instead I just changed my husband's contact name to "husband" and obviously my mom was already "mom".