Reinventing the 911 system to handle new technology

| 04.09.2007 | 10:51:588100 |

April 9 '07: The 911 system in many parts of the country is facing difficulties as state and local governments try to upgrade the systems to handle new technologies such as cell phones and text messaging, the New York Times reported according to state, local and regional officials.

At heart, "Experts are laying the groundwork for what they call Next Generation 911, which will better handle Internet-based calls, text messages, cellphone photos and other forms of communication already in common use," the Times reported.

Already, cities like New York are working to incorporate multi and rich media services into their emergency call centers.

However, many locales and their emergency services are focusing on "Phase II, which shows a caller's locations on a computer map," the Times reported. "Beyong saying lives, it promises to put a stop to chronic prank callers or tell dispatchers when many calls are coming from the same area, which happens when multiple cellphone users try to report the same car accident of hear attack."

To help push efforts, "Congress passed the Enhance 911 Act, authorizing $250 million a year for new 911 technology grants," however no money has been appropriated. Alaska Ted Stevens (R) is pushing for about $43 million in federal grant money to be released, the Times reported.