Prepaid Cell Phones and Emergency Service

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