Text-to-911 is a technology that enables emergency call takers to receive text messages.
Its use is encouraged for people with hearing impairment or who have trouble speaking; it can also be used for situations when it is too dangerous to call.
Text-to-911 has been supported by the four major cellular providers in the United States since 2014, but it is only supported by approximately 1,600 of more than 6,000 emergency call centers.
Adoption
The FCC maintains a registry of areas supporting text-to-911. All carriers are required to send bounce-back messages to inform the sender that the message could not be received if text-to-911 is not supported by the local call center.
Statewide Support
*Arizona
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Minnesota
* Maine
* New Hampshire
* North Dakota
* South Dakota
The
National Association of the Deaf provides a map of states providing text-to-911.
Challenges
Call centers are usually funded by both state and federal funding.
Limited funding and outdated technology have slowed the adoption of text-to-911.
Voice-based calls are still preferred and considered the more efficient form of communication.
Many cities are concerned about overuse of texting, which may slow response times.
Texts to 911 are not prioritized so they may be slow to be delivered.
History
In August 2009,
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...
, was the first county to begin receiving texts to 911.
See also
*
3-1-1, non-emergency number
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9-1-1 Tapping Protocol
The tapping protocol is an initiative developed by the government of New York City to provide members of the deaf and hard of hearing community, as well as others who are unable to voice, with a means of directly reporting emergencies to 9-1-1 from ...
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Emergency medical dispatcher
An emergency medical dispatcher is a professional telecommunicator, tasked with the gathering of information related to medical emergencies, the provision of assistance and instructions by voice, prior to the arrival of emergency medical service ...
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Enhanced 9-1-1
Enhanced 911, E-911 or E911 is a system used in North America to automatically provide the caller's location to 9-1-1, 911 dispatchers. 911 is the universal emergency telephone number in the region. In the European Union, a similar system exists kn ...
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Next Generation 9-1-1
Next Generation 9-1-1 (abbreviated NG9-1-1) refers to an initiative aimed at updating the 9-1-1 service infrastructure in the United States and Canada to improve public emergency communications services in a growing wireless mobile society. In addi ...
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Reverse 9-1-1
Reverse 9-1-1 is a public safety communications technology used by public safety organizations in Canada and the United States to communicate with groups of people in a defined geographic area. The system uses a database of telephone numbers and as ...
References
{{reflist
External links
FCC registry of areas that support Text-to-9-1-1 services
Assistive technology
Emergency telephone numbers
Emergency communication