FCC Officials Reviewing 911 Texting Plan
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla.
If you have a cell phone, you can text anyone for help. Anyone that is, except 911. The Federal Communications Commission plans to change that soon. But some local officials fear a text for help could actually slow down emergency response time.
FCC officials said they’re basing their plan partly on the Virginia Tech massacre that killed 33 people, including the gunman, in April 2007. When gunshots rang out on the campus, the students and witnesses, fearing the gunman would hear them, sent text messages to 911. Those cell phone text messages were never received.
In December, the FCC issued a Notice of Inquiry, which opens up a public dialogue about updating the nation’s 911 systems. They are calling the new system “Next Generation 911” or NG911.
In Seminole County alone, roughly 77 percent of the daily 911 emergency calls come from mobile phones.
The FCC reports similar numbers across the country.
Both agencies said it’s a sign that cell phones and texting are now an integral part of our lives.
But while a text for help might be faster for some in need, local dispatchers said they might be be facing too many unknowns.
“We have 90 seconds to dispatch that call to a unit,” said Nicole Cameron, who oversees the Seminole County Sheriff Department’s 911 communications center.
She said texting for help would create a logjam during a time when every second is critical.
“If they're texting us, we would have to say, ‘Where are you? What’s going on?’ And (get) your location in order to send out deputies,” said Cameron.
Local 6’s camera was rolling as one Seminole County dispatcher took an emergency call. The woman on the line was attacked in her home. The dispatcher was able to gather location and medical needs from the caller in 16 seconds.
The 911 Industry Alliance is one of dozens of agencies and public companies like Verizon, Time Warner, Mercedes Benz and AT&T that are weighing in on the issue of NG911.
In its public comment statement issued to the FCC in late February, the alliance stated while it’s in favor of upgrading the nation’s 911 system to allow texting, it wants to see a standardized NG911 system. Not to do so it says, “will be gambling with the public's safety and security."
The FCC admits the switch to NG911 will be a slow process, saying it will likely take a couple of years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently studying how much putting the system in place will cost and who will fund those upgrades— national, state, or local governments, or a combination of the three.
It's important to remember, right now, you can only call 911. A text message will not get there.
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