When Superstorm Sandy hit New York, incredible amounts of traffic were experienced on phone lines as people in the city were either making calls to emergency phone numbers for help or looking to get in touch with their loved ones.
Following the storm New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg started an emergency text messaging service to 311 to reduce the load on phone lines in the city and help emergency respondents to prioritize the requests.
This act by New York’s Mayor also inspired the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as the government institute is now looking to introduce the same type of service for the entire country. The FCC has declared in a recent announcement that they are planning to enable text messaging cabability to 911 from any area in the U.S.
In the press release, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that, “Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century.”
To make their plan work, the FCC declared last Friday that all four telecom carriers Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T in the country have signed a deal to put this text messaging service to 911 into practice. However, nationwide coverage will begin from May 15, 2014, as “major deployments” are likely to be shipped in the next year.
In this press release, Genachowski also said the new text to 911 service will not replace phone calls, but rather compliment them because through this service they would be able to help those who may have some sort of physical problem which prevents them from making a phone call or those who could be at risk if they try to speak with an operator in an emergency situation.
This service would also remain helpful for those, who do not want to consume the battery of their mobile phone when the light is out, as sending a text will not much affect their battery life.
If the model, which has all major players on board is a success, it could be implemented in other countries as it offers various means for people to get in touch with emergency respondents. How would you feel about texting emergencies to 911 in Canada?
Source: PandoDaily, TheRegister
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