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N.H. begins planning 911 system to handle e-mail, photos, texts
9-1-1 Technology, Tech | Greg | July 7, 2010 at 9:03 am
The state’s emergency services director, Bruce Cheney, envisions the day when New Hampshire’s 911 service will catch up with today’s cellular technology and accept text messages, photos, video, and e-mails about crimes and other emergencies.
Cheney has asked the Legislature for permission to use nearly $4 million collected from telephone users for emergency services to prepare New Hampshire for the next generation of 911.
He also has a $1 million federal grant to spend on the project.
“We’re still several years away from a complete upgrade to next generation, partly because even at the federal level decisions haven’t been made about the parameters,’’ he said. “The concept has not been totally fleshed out. New Hampshire is probably ahead of most states.’’
The state’s 911 system began operating in 1995, with technology limited to accepting voice calls for help, Cheney said. About 25,000 people used cellphones at the time, compared with nearly 1 million cellphones in use today.
The failure of 911 systems to keep pace with technology continues to hamper emergency responders around the country.
In several cases in recent years, kidnapping victims have summoned help by surreptitiously sending text messages. Because they could not send directly to 911, they had to use intermediaries.
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