| Find out the nitty gritty on prepaid cell | | | | 9-1-1 from your home phone, the dispatcher |
| phones and 911 service. Find out what prepaid | | | | automatically knows your callback number and |
| cell phone companies are required to do and | | | | your fixed location. But on a mobile phone, |
| why. | | | | there are some technological challenges. |
| | | | Fortunately, the cell phone companies stepped |
| Everybody is familiar with 9-1-1 service, | | | | up to the plate and came up with a solution. |
| which allows you to easily contact emergency | | | | In Phase I of the FCC mandate, carriers had |
| services from your home phone. But what about | | | | to create a system that would tell |
| your cell? Emergencies can happen when you're | | | | dispatchers the cell phone number of the |
| away from home. And even while you're at | | | | caller, as well as the location of the cell |
| home, more households are moving towards a | | | | tower, which would provide at least an |
| single-line solution, replacing their | | | | approximate geographic location. More |
| landline phones with mobile. | | | | sophisticated location detection technology |
| | | | uses GPS-enabled cell phones to determine the |
| The FCC requires all cellular carriers to put | | | | location of the caller in an emergency. |
| through all 9-1-1 calls, even when the phone | | | | |
| does not have an active service contract. | | | | Phase II, scheduled to be fully implemented |
| Individuals who have medical conditions may | | | | by the end of 2005, goes a step further by |
| do well to carry an emergency cell phone, | | | | providing Automatic Location Identification |
| even if they do not use a cell phone on a | | | | (ALI), with precise latitude and longitude of |
| regular basis. It is also an ideal solution | | | | the caller, to the emergency dispatcher. This |
| for the elderly, who may be at risk while out | | | | capability has been incorporated into many |
| and about. Keeping an emergency cell phone in | | | | newer cell phones, but there are still older |
| the car's glove compartment, along with a | | | | cell phones still in use. If you plan to use |
| portable charger, can help avert a disaster | | | | your cell phone as an emergency backup, make |
| in case of a breakdown or accident in a | | | | sure you have a newer "location-sensitive" |
| remote area. | | | | phone that is equipped to handle this |
| | | | service. |
| The so-called E911 (enhanced 911) service, | | | | |
| mandated by the FCC, also requires carriers | | | | There is no charge for calling 9-1-1 from a |
| to implement a system that tells emergency | | | | cell phone; the E911 infrastructure is paid |
| dispatchers the location of the caller. This | | | | for with a small surcharge on normal cell |
| has been a part of landline emergency | | | | phone services. |
| services for several years, and when you call | | | | |