US mobile providers commit to emergency texting service

[menotu]

By Grant Gross | 07 December 12

The four largest mobile carriers in the U.S. -- AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile -- have agreed to accelerate the availability of emergency texting, or text-to-911.

The four carriers have committed to major deployments of text-to-911 in 2013, with nationwide availability by May 15, 2014, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said late Thursday. The agreement between the agency and the four carriers means that more than 90 percent of the nation's mobile consumers, including those with hearing or speech disabilities, will be able to contact emergency services by sending text messages to 911.

Text-to-911 can also provide consumers access to emergency communications in situations where a voice call could endanger them, the FCC said in a press release. The agency sees text-to-911 has a complement to, not a substitute for, voice calls to 911 services, and recommends that people should make voice calls to 911 when possible

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3415460/us-mobile-providers-commit-emergency-texting-service/?olo=rss

[sling-shot]

Good thinking. Solid logic.

[Just17]

We had a pilot scheme like this start at the beginning of the year, supposed to last 6 months .....  I have no idea what became of it, or if it is still working.

IMO, our pilot scheme was flawed as the phone to be used had to register with the service first.

It was in response to lobbying from speech and hearing impaired people for access to an emergency service.

Unfortunately it did not take into account that such a person might wish to call the service for (for instance) me, and I have no need to register my phone for the service!

I must try to find out what happened to that pilot ......