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{{See also|Emergency telephone number}} |
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{{About|the emergency telephone number||911 (disambiguation)}} |
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[[File:American police car 9-1-1.jpg|thumb|right|"Emergency 911" displayed on the side of an emergency vehicle, indicating that 9-1-1 is the number to dial in the event of an emergency.]] |
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'''9-1-1''' (usually pronounced "nine-one-one") is the [[emergency telephone number]] for the [[North American Numbering Plan]] (NANP). It is one of eight [[N11 code]]s. In some jurisdictions, the use of this number is reserved for true emergency circumstances only.<ref>http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/10/26/ot-fake-calls-071026.html Police nab fourth teen after hoax 911 calls</ref><ref>http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=32990300-f406-4286-a296-e7179cfe4ee7 More arrests possible in prank 911 calls</ref> |
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==History== |
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In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the development of the [[rotary dial]] [[telephone]], all telephone calls were [[Telephone operator|operator]]-assisted. To place a call, the caller was required to pick up the [[telephone receiver]] and wait for the telephone operator to answer with "Number please?" They would then ask to be connected to the number he or she wished to call, and the operator would make the required connection manually, by means of a [[Telephone switchboard|switchboard]]. In an emergency, the caller might simply say "Get me the police", "I want to report a fire", or "I need an ambulance/doctor". It was usually not necessary to ask for any of these services by number, even in a large city. Indeed, until the ability to dial a phone number came into widespread use in the 1950s (it had existed in limited form since the 1920s), telephone users could not place calls without operator assistance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.privateline.com/TelephoneHistory4/History4.htm|title=History of the Telephone (Privateline.com website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> During the period when an operator was always involved in placing a phone call, the operator instantly knew the calling party's number, even if the caller couldn't stay on the line, by simply looking at the number above the line jack of the calling party. In smaller centers, telephone operators frequently went the extra mile by making sure they knew the locations of local [[Physician|doctors]], [[Veterinarian|vets]], [[police officer|law enforcement personnel]], and even private citizens who were willing or able to help in an emergency. Frequently, the operator would activate the town's fire alarm, and acted as an informational clearinghouse when an emergency such as a fire occurred. When North American cities and towns began to convert to rotary dial or, "automatic" telephone service, many people were concerned about the loss of the personalized service that had been provided by local operators. This problem was partially solved by telling people to dial "0" for the local assistance operator, if they did not know the [[Fire Department|Fire]] or [[Police Department]]'s full number. |
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In many cases, the local emergency services would attempt to obtain [[telephone numbers]] that were easy for the public to remember. Many fire departments, for example, would attempt to obtain an emergency telephone line with a number ending in "3-4-7-3", which [[Telephone keypad|spelled the word]] 'Fire' on the corresponding letters of the rotary telephone dial. Some cities made early attempts at a centralized emergency number, using a conventional telephone number. In [[Toronto]], [[Canada]], for example, the [[Metropolitan Toronto Police]] communications bureau attempted to promote their emergency number 'Empire' (which was the name for the exchange '3-6'—all [[telephone exchanges]] at the time had corresponding names)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/Recommended.html|title=Officially Recommended Exchange Names (website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> 1-1111, or '361-1111' for use in all emergencies. The rationale was that the abbreviation of the Empire exchange in common usage, 'EM', corresponded to the first two letters of the word 'emergency' and that the caller only had to remember the number '1' beyond that. This was never widely accepted, in that the City's fourteen local [[fire departments]] continued to tell the public to call them directly and the service never actually included [[ambulances]], which in those days were considered a private transportation service. This was further complicated by the fact that the numbers changed by [[municipality]], and the emergency number and emergency services on one side of a street might be completely different from the other side if the street was a municipal boundary.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.torontoems.ca/main-site/about/history-files/dispatch-history.html|title=Ambulance Dispatching in Toronto Since 1832 (Toronto EMS website)|accessdate=2008-11-06}}</ref> When a caller was uncertain of his or her exact location, emergency responses could be delayed, and so, for most people, it was simply easier to rely upon the telephone operator to make the connections. The efforts of telephone companies to publicize "Dial '0' for Emergencies" were ultimately abandoned in the face of company staffing and liability concerns,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://firehouse.epubxpress.com/wps/portal/fir/c0/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3iLkCAPEzcPIwMLQ0dDA6OAMH9zAw9TQ3cXI_1I_ShznPJeRvohIBMz9SMNDY0NQMxi_UgwXQAUMjDVL8hOTKpKjVQEAOhrzs8!/|title=Next Generation 911 (Firehouse magazine website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> |
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but not before generations of school children were taught to "dial 0 in case of emergency," just as they are currently taught to dial 9-1-1. This situation of unclear emergency telephone numbers would continue, in most places in [[North America]], into the early 1980s. In some locales, the problem persists to this day. |
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The first known experiment with a national emergency telephone number occurred in the [[U.K.]] in 1937, using the number [[999 (emergency telephone number)|999]].<ref>{{ cite web | url=http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/ShowArticle.cfm?ArticleID=6e55cb12-8c0c-417f-b68c-6a7f62b1d8c8 | title=999 celebrates its 70th birthday | author=[[BT plc]] | date=2007-06-29 | accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> The first city in North America to use a central emergency number (in 1959) was the Canadian city of [[Winnipeg, Manitoba|Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], which instituted the change at the urging of [[Stephen Juba]], mayor of Winnipeg at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/History/history5.stm|title=Winnipeg Police History website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> Winnipeg initially used 999 as the emergency number,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technology/technology/topics/1139-6261/|title=Winnipegers Call 999 for Help (CBC Digital Archives website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> but switched numbers when 9-1-1 was proposed by the [[United States]]. In the United States, the push for the development of a nationwide American emergency telephone number came in 1957 when the [[National Association of Fire Chiefs]] recommended that a single number be used for reporting fires.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.nena.org/pages/ContentList.asp?CTID=22|title=911 Facts 1 (NENA website)|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> In 1967, the [[President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice]] recommended the creation of a single number that could be used nationwide for reporting emergencies.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.nena.org/pages/ContentList.asp?CTID=22|title=911 Facts 2 (NENA website)|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> The burden then fell on the [[Federal Communications Commission]], which then met with [[AT&T]] in November, 1967 in order to come up with a solution. |
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In 1968, a solution was agreed upon. [[AT&T]] chose to copy the Canadian concept, but with a different emergency number, 9-1-1, which was brief, easy to remember, dialed easily, and worked well with the phone systems in place at the time. How the number 9-1-1 itself was decided upon is not well known and is subject to much speculation. However, many assert that the number 9-1-1 was chosen to be similar to the numbers 2-1-1 (long distance), [[4-1-1]] ("information", later called "directory assistance"), and [[6-1-1]] (repair service), which had already been in use by AT&T since the 1920s. Not all such [[N11 code|N11 numbers]] are common throughout the telephone systems of North America. Some of the designated services provided by these numbers are regional, and there are significant differences in number allocation between Canada<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/public/cisc/cn/CNODGL0015A.doc|title=CRTC Guidelines|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> and the United States;<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257293A1.doc|title=N11 Numbers (FCC website)|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> only 4-1-1 and 9-1-1 are universally used. In addition, because it was important to ensure that the emergency number was not dialed accidentally, 9-1-1 made sense because the numbers "9" and "1" were on opposite ends of a phone's [[rotary dial]]. Furthermore, the [[North American Numbering Plan]] in use at the time established rules for which numbers could be used for [[area code]]s and [[telephone exchange|exchanges]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nanpa.com/about_us/index.html|title=About NANPA (website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> At the time, the middle digit of an area code had to be either a 0 or 1, and the first two digits of an exchange could not be a 1.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://poznaisebya.com/communications/mobile-cell-phone/news_2008-06-21-22-11-03-804.html|title=History of the North American Numbering System (website)|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> At the telephone switching station, the second dialed digit was used to determine if the number was long distance or local. If the number had a 0 or 1 as the second digit, it was long distance, if it had any other digit, it was a local call. Thus, since the number 9-1-1 was detected by the switching equipment as a special number, it could be routed appropriately. Also, since 9-1-1 was a unique number, never having been used as an area code or service code (although at one point [[GTE]] used test numbers such as 11911), it could fit into the existent phone system easily. AT&T announced the selection of 9-1-1 as their choice of the three-digit emergency number at a press conference in the Washington (DC) office of [[Indiana]] Rep. [[J. Edward Roush]], who had championed Congressional support of a single emergency number. |
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Soon after, in [[Alabama]], Bob Gallagher, then-president of the independent Alabama Telephone Company (ATC), read an article in the [[Wall Street Journal]] from January 15, 1968, which reported the AT&T 9-1-1 announcement. Gallagher’s competitive spirit motivated him to beat AT&T to the punch by being the first to implement the 9-1-1 service. In need of a suitable spot within his company's territory to implement 9-1-1, he contacted Robert Fitzgerald, who was Inside State Plant Manager for ATC. Fitzgerald recommended [[Haleyville, Alabama]] as the prime site. Gallagher later issued a press release announcing that 9-1-1 service would begin in Haleyville on Feb. 16, 1968. Fitzgerald designed the [[circuitry]], and with the assistance of technicians Jimmy White, Glenn Johnston, Al Bush and Pete Gosa, they quickly completed the central office work and installation.<ref>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl911memo.htm Establishing 911 at Haleyville Alabama<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Just 35 days after AT&T's announcement, on February 16, 1968, the first-ever 9-1-1 call was placed by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite, from Haleyville City Hall, to U.S. Rep. [[Tom Bevill]], at the city's police station. Bevill reportedly answered the phone with "Hello". At the City Hall with Fite was Haleyville mayor James Whitt; at the police station with Bevill were Gallagher and [[Alabama Public Service Commission]] director [[Bull Connor|Eugene "Bull" Connor]]. Fitzgerald was at the ATC central office serving Haleyville, and actually observed the call pass through the switching gear as the mechanical equipment clunked out "9-1-1". The phone used to answer the first 9-1-1 call, a bright red model, is now in a museum in Haleyville, while a duplicate phone is still in use at the [[police station]]. |
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[[Image:Emergency dial 911.svg|thumb|Public notice on highway]] |
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In 1968, 9-1-1 was established as the national emergency number for the United States. In theory at least, calling this single number provided a caller anywhere in the United States access to police, fire and ambulance services, through what would become known as a common [[Public-safety answering point]] (PSAP). Individual communities, however, were slow to adopt the new number, for a variety of reasons. |
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Conversion to 9-1-1 in Canada began in 1972 and most major cities are now using 9-1-1. Each year, [[Canadians]] make 12 million calls to 9-1-1<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada's 9-1-1 emergency|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/article728860.ece|accessdate=11-20-2009|publisher=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref>. |
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==Locating callers automatically== |
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{{sync|Enhanced 911}} <!-- This summary could probably be cut down to 1-2 paragraphs, and the photos here moved to the other article. --> |
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{{Main|Enhanced 911}} |
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In over 98% of locations in the United States and Canada, dialing "911" from any telephone will link the caller to an emergency [[Dispatcher|dispatch]] center—called a PSAP, or Public Safety Answering Point, by the telecom industry—which can send [[emergency responders]] to the caller's location in an emergency. In most areas (approximately 96% of the US) [[enhanced 911]] is available, which automatically gives [[Dispatcher|dispatch]] the caller's location, if available.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/services/911-services/|title=9-1-1 (FCC website)|accessdate=2008-11-06}}</ref> Enhanced 9-1-1 or E9-1-1 service is a North American telecommunications-based system that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party's telephone number, and routes the call to the most appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for that address. The caller’s address and information are displayed to the PSAP calltaker immediately upon the site's receipt of the call. This provides emergency responders with the location of the emergency without the person calling for help having to provide it. This is often useful in cases of fires, break-ins, kidnapping, and other events where communicating one's location is difficult or impossible. In North America, the system works only if the emergency telephone number 9-1-1 is called. Calls made to other telephone numbers, even though they may be listed as an emergency telephone number, may not permit this feature to function correctly. |
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===Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)=== |
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The final destination of an E9-1-1 call—the location where the 9-1-1 operator is working—is called a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). There may be multiple PSAPs within the same exchange, or one PSAP may cover multiple exchanges. The territories covered by a single PSAP are based more on historical and legal police considerations than on telecommunications issues. Most PSAPs have a regional Emergency Service Number, a number identifying the PSAP. |
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The Caller Location Information (CLI) provided is normally integrated into an emergency dispatch center's computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) system, to provide the dispatcher with an onscreen street map that highlights the caller's position and the nearest available emergency responders. For Wireline (land line) E911, the location is an address. For Wireless E911, the location is a set of coordinates. Not all PSAPs have the Wireless and Wireline systems integrated. As other aspects of the technology of managing emergency response evolve, the PSAPs will need to evolve with them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nena.org/media/File/NG9-1-1DefinitionFinal1.1.pdf|title=What is NG9-1-1? (NENA website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> |
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<gallery caption="A system to save lives" widths="250px" heights="180px" perrow="3"> |
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Image:Rlst_ro_t3.jpg|Typical work station |
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Image:CAD 8-12 paint.png|Computerized information processing |
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Image:911dispatchcenter.jpg|Public Safety Answering Point |
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</gallery> |
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===Wireline Enhanced 911=== |
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In all North American jurisdictions, special privacy legislation permits emergency operators to obtain a 9-1-1 caller's telephone number and location information.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=38.52.505|title=Washington State Legislature website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> This information is gathered by mapping the calling phone number to an address in a database. This database function is known as [[ALI]], Automatic Location Identification.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6526125/description.html|title=U.S. Patent#6526125 (PatentStorm website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> The database is generally maintained by the local telephone company, under a contract with the PSAP. Each telephone company has its own standards for the formatting of the database. Most ALI databases have a companion database known as the MSAG, Master Street Address Guide. The MSAG describes address elements including the exact spellings of street names, and street number ranges. |
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Each telephone company has at least two redundant telephone trunk lines connecting each host office telephone switch to each PSAP. These trunks are either directly connected to the PSAPs, or are connected to a telephone company central switch that intelligently distributes calls to the PSAPs. These special switches are often known as 9-1-1 Selective Routers.<ref>{{citeweb|url=https://www.qwest.com/wholesale/downloads/2001/010803/Primary_Routing.pdf|title= Enhanced 9-1-1|accessdate=2008-11-06}}</ref> The use of 9-1-1 Selective Routers is becoming increasingly more common, as it simplifies the interconnection between newer office switches and the many older PSAP systems. |
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The effectiveness of this technology may sometimes be affected by the type of telephone infrastructure that the call is routed through. The PSAP may receive calls from the telephone company on older analog trunks, which are similar to regular telephone lines but are formatted to pass the calling party number. The PSAP may also receive calls on older-style digital trunks, which must be specially formatted to pass ANI ([[Automatic Number Identification]]) information only.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci213775,00.html|title=What is ANI? (website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> Some upgraded PSAPs can receive calls in which the calling party number is already present. The location of the call is drawn from a computer routine which supports telephone company service billing, called the Charge Number Parameter. With some technologies, the PSAP trunking does not pass address information along with the call. Instead, only the calling party number is passed, and the PSAP must use the calling party number to look up the address in the ALI database. The ALI database is secured and separate from the public phone network, by design. Sometimes, on calls using land lines, the originating telephone number may not be passed to the PSAP at all, generally because the number is not in the ALI database. When this happens, the call receiver must confirm the location of the incoming call, and may have to redirect the call to another, more appropriate PSAP. ALI Failure occurs when the phone number is not passed or the phone number passed is not in the ALI database. In most jurisdictions, when ALI database lookup failure occurs, the telephone company has a legal mandate to fix the database entry. |
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==Funding 9-1-1 services== |
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In the United States, 9-1-1 and enhanced 9-1-1 are typically funded based on state laws that impose monthly fees on local and wireless telephone customers. In Canada, a similar fee for service structure is regulated by the federal Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Depending on the location, counties and cities may also levy a fee, which may be in addition to, or in lieu of, the state fee. The fees are collected by local telephone and wireless carriers through monthly surcharges on customer telephone bills. The collected fees are remitted to 9-1-1 administrative bodies, which may be statewide 9-1-1 boards, state public utility commissions, state revenue departments, or local 911 agencies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/govstream/BDSvData/non_legacy/Minutes/2008/20080520/PDF/015.pdf|title=Santa Cruz County (Calif.) Board of Supervisors website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> These agencies disburse the funds to the Public Safety Answering Points for 9-1-1 purposes as specified in the various statutes. [[Telephone company|Telephone companies]] in the United States, including wireless carriers, may be entitled to apply for and receive reimbursements for costs of their compliance with federal and state laws requiring that their networks be compatible with 9-1-1 and enhanced 9-1-1. This is also true in Canada. |
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Fees vary widely by locality. They may range from around $.25 per month to $3.00 per month, per line.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.co.yellowstone.mt.gov/des/e911/911UserFees.pdf|title=Range of 911 User Fees|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> The average wireless 9-1-1 fee in the [[United States]], based on the fees for each state as published by the [[National Emergency Number Association]] (NENA), is around $.72. Since monthly fees do not vary based on the customer's usage of the network, the fees are considered, in tax terms, as highly "regressive", i.e., the fees disproportionately burden low-volume users of the public switched network (PSN) as compared with high-volume users. Some states cap the number of lines subject to the fee for large multi-line businesses, thereby shifting more of the fee burden to low-volume single-line residential customers or wireless customers. |
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==Problems requiring further resolution== |
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===Wireless telephones=== |
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Dialing 9-1-1 from a [[mobile phone]] (Cellular/PCS) in the [[United States]] originally connected the call to the state [[police]] or [[highway patrol]], instead of the local public safety answering point (PSAP).<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=11904|title=9-1-1 From Your Cellphone (Berkley (Ca) Police website)|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> The caller had to describe an exact location so that the agency could transfer the call to the correct local [[emergency services]]. This was a regular problem, because the exact location of the cellular phone isn't normally transmitted with the voice call, and with the exponential growth of cellular use, such calls were frequent occurrences. |
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In 2000, the U.S. [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) issued an order requiring wireless carriers to determine and transmit the location of callers who dial 9-1-1. The FCC set up a phased program: Phase I transmitted the location of the receiving antenna for 9-1-1 calls, while Phase II transmitted the location of the calling telephone. The order set up certain accuracy requirements and other technical details, and milestones for completing the implementation of wireless location services. Subsequent to the FCC's order, many wireless carriers requested [[waiver]]s of the milestones, and the FCC granted many of them. By mid-2005, the process of Phase II implementation was generally underway, but limited by the complexity of the coordination required from wireless carriers, PSAPs, local telephone companies and other affected [[government agencies]], and the limited funding available to local agencies which need to convert PSAP equipment to display location data (usually on [[computerized]] [[map]]s). Such rules do not apply in Canada.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.ecomm.bc.ca/9-1-1/safety-tips/cell-phones|title=The Good and Bad News About Cellphones|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> |
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FCC rules require that all new mobile phones will provide their [[latitude]] and [[longitude]] to emergency operators in the event of a 9-1-1 call. Carriers may choose whether to implement this via Global Positioning System ([[GPS]]) [[computer chip|chip]]s in each phone, or by means of [[triangulation]] between cell [[tower]]s. Due to limitations in [[technology]] (of the mobile phone, cellular phone towers, and PSAP equipment), a mobile caller's [[geographical]] information may not always be available to the local PSAP. Technologies are currently under development to remedy this situation and improve performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6697630.html|title=U.S. Patent #6697630 (freepatentsonline website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> Although there are now technological ways to obtain the geographical location of the caller, a 9-1-1 caller should try to be aware of the location of the incident about which he or she is calling. |
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===Inactive telephones=== |
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In the U.S., [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] rules require every telephone that can access the network to be able to dial 9-1-1, regardless of any reason that normal service may have been disconnected (including non-[[payment]]) (This only applies to states with a Do Not Disconnect policy in place. Those states must provide a "soft" dial tone service, details can be found at http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Reports/FCC-State_Link/IAD/pntris99.pdf) On wired ([[land line]]) phones, this usually is accomplished by a "soft" [[dial tone]], which sounds normal but will allow only emergency calls. Often, an unused and unpublished [[phone number]] will be issued to the line so that it will work properly. With regard to mobile phones, the rules require carriers to connect 9-1-1 calls from any mobile phone, regardless of whether that phone is currently active.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denco.org/jurisdictions.html|title=Denton County (Ga.) 9-1-1 website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> The same rules for inactive telephones apply in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_766_243_0_43/http%3B/content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Living/Safety+and+Health/Public+Safety+Communications/Calling+911.htm|title=Calling 9-1-1 (City of Calgary website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> |
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When a cellular phone is deactivated, the phone number is often recycled to a new user, or to a new phone for the same user. The deactivated cell phone will still complete a 911 call (if it has battery power) but the 911 operator will see a specialized number indicating the cell phone has been deactivated. It is usually represented with an area code of (911)-xxx-xxxx. If the call is disconnected, the 911 operator will not be able to connect to the original caller. Also because the cell phone is no longer activated, the 911 operator is often unable to get Phase II information.<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20070423/ai_n19033142</ref> |
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===Internet telephony=== |
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{{sync|VoIP#Emergency_calls}} |
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{{Main|VoIP}} |
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If 9-1-1 is dialed from a commercial Voice Over Internet Protocol ([[VoIP]]) service, depending on how the provider handles such calls, the call may not go anywhere at all, or it may go to a non-emergency number at the public safety answering point associated with the billing or service address of the caller.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.911voip.org/faqs.htm#1|title=911VoIp FAQs|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> Because a VoIP adapter can be plugged into any [[broadband]] internet connection, a caller could actually be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from home, yet if the call goes to an answering point at all, it would be the one associated with the caller's address and not the actual location of the call. It may never be possible to reliably and accurately identify the location of a VoIP user, even if a GPS receiver is installed in the VoIP adapter, since such phones are normally used indoors, and thus may be unable to get a signal. |
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In March 2005, commercial [[Internet telephony]] provider [[Vonage]] was sued by the [[Texas]] [[attorney general]], who alleged that their website and other sales and service documentation did not make clear enough that Vonage's provision of 9-1-1 service was not done in the traditional manner. In May 2005 the FCC issued an order requiring VoIP providers to offer 9-1-1 service to all their subscribers within 120 days of the order being published.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/services/911-services/|title=9-1-1 Services (FCC website)|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> The order set off anxiety among many VoIP providers, who felt it will be too expensive and require them to adopt solutions that won't support future VoIP products{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}. In Canada, the federal regulators have required [[Internet Service Providers]] ([[ISP]]s), to provide an equivalent service to the conventional PSAPs, but even these encounter problems with caller location, since their databases rely on company billing addresses.<ref>{{cite press release |
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|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/NEWS/RELEASES/2005/r050404.htm |
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|title=CRTC Decision on 9-1-1 Emergency Services for VoIP Service Providers |
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|publisher=[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] |
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|date=2005-04-04 |
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|accessdate=2009-09-13 |
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}}</ref> |
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In May 2010 , most VoIP users who dial 9-1-1 are connected to a call center owned by their telephone company, or contracted by them. The operators are most often not trained emergency service providers, and are only there to do their best to connect the caller to the appropriate emergency service. If the call center is able to determine the location of the emergency they try to transfer the caller to the appropriate PSAP. Most often the caller ends up being directed to a PSAP in the general area of the emergency. A 9-1-1 operator at that PSAP must then determine the location of the emergency, and either send help directly, or transfer the caller to the appropriate emergency service. In April 2008, an 18-month-old boy in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]] died after a VoIP provider's 9-1-1 operator had an ambulance dispatched to the boy's family's previous address in [[Mississauga]], [[Ontario]].<ref>{{cite news| |
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url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/04/30/calgary-toddler.html|title=Calgary toddler dies after family calls 911 on internet phone|author=[[CBC News]]|date=2008-04-30|accessdate=2009-09-13}}</ref> |
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===Nine-One-One vs. Nine-Eleven=== |
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When the 9-1-1 system was originally introduced, it was advertised as the "nine-eleven" service. The advertising was changed when concerns were expressed that some types of callers, most notably smaller children, tend to be very literal, and might waste emergency response time trying to find a non-existent "eleven" key on their telephones.<ref>"[http://www.co.santa-rosa.fl.us/emergency/911faq.html 9-1-1 FAQ]". ''Santa Rosa County Emergency Management Office''. Santa Rosa County, Florida. Retrieved on December 29, 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nashville.gov/ecc/911_info_caller_tips.htm |title=9-1-1 Caller Tips |work=Emergency Communications Center |publisher=Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee |accessdate=2008-12-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/dem/e911/E-9-1-1.htm |title=What Is 9-1-1? |work=Pierce County Enhanced 9-1-1 Program Office, Pierce County Department of Emergency Management |publisher=Pierce County, Washington |date=March 11, 2008 |accessdate=2008-12-29}}</ref> Therefore, all references to the telephone number ''9-1-1'' are now always made as "nine-one-one", and never as "nine-eleven", according to standards outlined by the [[National Emergency Number Association]] (NENA). Some newspapers and other media require that references to the phone number be formatted as 9-1-1, also a suggested standard by NENA.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nena.org/|title=National Emergency Number Association website|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> Since September 11, 2001, "nine-eleven" is used almost exclusively to refer to the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]]. In [[Spanish language|Spanish]], 9-1-1 is known as "''{{lang|es|nueve once}} ''", which means "nine eleven" and rarely as "''{{lang|es|nueve uno uno}}''", the literal translation of "nine-one-one". |
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===Dialing patterns=== |
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In particular, the choice of 9-1-1 as the emergency services number can cause dialing-pattern problems in some hotels and businesses. Some hotels, for example, have been known to require dialing "91+" to make an outside call. This leads numbers being dialed such as 91+1+301+555+2368. Since this is a valid telephone number which starts with the digits 911, and is not a call to an emergency service, a timeout becomes necessary on calls dialed literally as 911 to avoid accidental calls to the emergency number. Such prefixes for dialing outside calls are strongly discouraged by telephone companies for this reason. The need to avoid accidental 9-1-1 calls is also part of the reasoning behind why no area code starts with a "1": the slightly less troublesome "outside line" prefix of "9+" would then cause the same problem: "9+114+555+2368", for example. This can still be an issue with long distance calling in places that require an "outside line" prefix; a number might then start "9+1+" and, given the possibility of mis-dialing and pressing the "1" twice, still cause a problem. Requiring an "outside line" prefix also means that to complete an intended call to 9-1-1 from a hotel or business that uses a prefix, a caller would have to know to dial the "outside line" prefix first, rendering the emergency number as 91-9-1-1 or 9-9-1-1. However, some phone systems that require "9" to get an outside line can recognize the dialed pattern 9-1-1 (without a previous "9") and connect to the PSAP without error. Another possible problem with 9-1-1 dialing is that the international phone code for [[India]] is "91", and sometimes calls meant for India end up at local emergency dispatch offices if a caller did not first dial the [[international call prefix]] [[0-1-1|011]]. |
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=== Emergencies across jurisdictions === |
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When a caller dials 9-1-1, the call is routed to the local public safety answering point. However, if the caller is reporting an emergency in another jurisdiction, the dispatchers may or may not know how to contact the proper authorities. The publicly posted phone numbers for most police departments in the U.S. are non-emergency numbers that often specifically instruct callers to dial 9-1-1 in case of emergency, which does not resolve the issue for callers outside of the jurisdiction. In the age of both commercial and personal high speed [[Internet]] communications, this issue is becoming an increasing problem. |
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In the [[Pennsylvania]] suburbs of [[Philadelphia]], telephone exchanges frequently cross county lines. For example, a 9-1-1 call placed from [[Warminster Township, Pennsylvania|Warminster]], which is in [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks County]], may be misdirected to the [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]] PSAP because most of Warminster is served by the [[Hatboro, Pennsylvania|Hatboro]] telephone exchange, which is located in Montgomery County. [[Telford, Pennsylvania]] sits in both counties and the PSAP must determine in which county the call originated. |
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NENA has developed the '''North American 9-1-1 Resource Database''' which includes the National PSAP Registry. PSAPs can query this database to obtain emergency contact information of a PSAP in another county or state when it receives a call involving another jurisdiction. Online access to this database is provided at no charge for authorized local and state 9-1-1 authorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nena.org/north-america-911-resource-database|title=NENA 9-1-1 Resource DB|accessdate=2009-11-06}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
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* [[eCall]] |
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* [[Emergency telephone]] |
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* [[Emergency telephone number]] |
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* [[Enhanced 911]] |
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* [[Emergency Medical Dispatcher]] |
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* [[In case of emergency]] (ICE) entry in the [[mobile phone]] book. |
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* [[Next Generation 9-1-1]] |
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* [[1-0-8|108]] Emergency phone number in [[India]] |
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* [[000 emergency|000]] Emergency phone number in [[Australia]] |
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* [[100 emergency|100]] Emergency phone number in [[India]], [[Israel]] |
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* [[1-1-1|111]] Emergency phone number in [[New Zealand]] |
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* [[1-1-2|112]] Emergency phone number across the [[European Union]] and on [[GSM]] mobile networks across the world. |
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* [[1-1-9|119]] Emergency phone number in parts of [[East Asia]] |
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* [[999 (emergency telephone number)|999]] Emergency phone number in [[Ireland]], [[Poland]] (medical emergencies), United Kingdom (where it works parallel to 112) and [[Hong Kong]]. Also an emergency number in several other non-EU countries. |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Wiktionary|911}} |
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* [http://www.911alliance.org 9-1-1 Industry Alliance Web Site] |
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* [http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/wireless911srvc.html FCC rules on wireless 911 service] |
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* [http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/911.html How to Use 911] |
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* [http://www.knowwhat2do.com/index.php?q=node/60 KnoWhat2Do: 911 Emergency] |
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* [http://www.nena.org/911-general-info National Emergency Number Association: Development of 9-1-1] |
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* [http://www.911dispatch.com/911/911_world.html Emergency Numbers Around the World] from 911dispatch.com |
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{{EMSworld}} |
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{{N11 codes}} |
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{{Emergency telephone numbers}} |
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[[Category:Emergency telephone numbers]] |
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[[es:9-1-1]] |
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[[fr:9-1-1 (secours)]] |
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[[ro:9-1-1]] |
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[[simple:9-1-1]] |
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[[sv:911 (telefonnummer)]] |
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Revision as of 00:55, 11 May 2010
This number is a stu9id idea. 911 hahahahahaha