Wednesday 24 November 2010

Long run 911 program 'may accept textual content and video clip messages'

The US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is looking at updating the 911 emergency call product to accept photograph, text and video messages. bunbun auto insurance

Roughly 70% of 911 calls are by now currently being made out of cellular telephones, said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.

However the 911 product will not presently "support the communication equipment of tomorrow", he extra.

The FCC said the Virginia Tech massacre was an incident when 911 multimedia technologies could are actually employed.

Thirty-two people today have been left lifeless just after a pupil opened fire to the Virginia Tech college campus in 2007.

"Some students and witnesses tried to text 911 all through that emergency and as we know, individuals messages never ever went through and have been never ever acquired by native 911 dispatchers," Mr Genachowski said.

But individuals multimedia messages may possibly soon be answered due to broadband-enabled Upcoming Generation 911, Mr Genachowski said, in a speech at the Arlington County Emergency Center in Virginia.

"Even although cellular phones are the machine of choice for many 911 callers, and we predominantly use our phones to text, right now, you can't text 911. It is time to bring 911 to the digital age."
Complicated product

A product that will enable folks to report crimes not having currently being heard could also be used in circumstances ranging from kidnappings to robberies.

Mr Genachowski extra that texting can be a especially useful kind of communication for folks who're deaf and other individuals having a variety of disabilities.

But modifications to the complex 911 product are unable to take place overnight, nor not having a vote from your FCC.

The last significant transform to the emergency product by the FCC occurred in 2001, when the group essential cellular phone carriers to permit them to pinpoint a caller's geographic location both through GPS and by triangulating a caller's location through mobile phone towers.

Established in 1968, the 911 emergency product handles more than 230m calls per year.

No comments:

Post a Comment