FCC pushes 911 emergency text service

Federal regulators are moving forward on plans to incorporate new technologies into emergency systems, such as using texting and sending mobile photos and videos to police and rescue agencies to increase responsiveness.

The Federal Communications Commission voted yesterday to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking, or NPRM, to create a next-generation 911 emergency system that supports other messaging options beyond telephones. Funding may pose a problem for the plans, so text messaging may be the first feature to be implemented.

“In an emergency, consumers should be able to reach out for help with whatever means of communications they are accustomed to using,” said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski at an FCC meeting on Thursday, where commissioners agreed to issue the proposal.

Opening up the communications to other forms will assist first responders in assessing incidents before they even arrive on the scene, especially through photos and videos sent at the time or during dispatch.

For users of the system, one commissioner pointed out that texting is sometimes the only safe option in cases where making a call may not be possible or when a voice call to 911 may put the caller in further danger.

The agency discussed the fact that many people aren’t aware that the 911 system can’t handle text or pictures, underscoring the lag between the current 911 system and new technology.

“Today, if a mobile phone user attempts to send even a simple text to 911, it goes nowhere,” Genachowski said. “That’s what happened to the students at Virginia Tech who texted 911 during the terrible shooting several years ago.”

Funding such an overhaul will be big hurdle for such a plan, though, in light of tight budgets at every level of government. Most 911 call centers are funded by a combination of state and local subsidies, leaving open the question of how such a program, estimated to cost between $1.5 and $2.6 billion, will be paid for.

Genachowski did say that at least the texting portion of such a plan may not be as costly and likely will be implemented first. Emergency call centers are already testing texting technologies that could be ready in a year’s time.

The next-generation 911 proposal is part of the agency’s broad public safety agenda Genachowski unveiled last month. The bigger, five-to-10 year plan includes emergency multimedia messaging, automatic location accuracy mechanisms and technical standards for equipment.

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