Text-to-911 Is Coming! Are you ready?
The FCC has announced that text-to-911 is complete at the carrier level and that by September, it will be installed at all 911 answering points. Simply translated, the nation’s phone system can now handle sending texts to 911, but not all areas are covered yet.
This is great, but this new public solution is incomplete.
What needs improving in text-to-911 system now rolling out?
It does not send your location information to the 911 operators. You can text quietly with the dispatcher, but their first question has to be, “Where are you, and what is the nature of your emergency?”
With DefenCall’s T2911 app, you just click a button and one of these messages automatically gets ready to go out from your phone to the 911 operator:
- There is a FIRE at <your location>. Please send help. OR,
- I have a medical emergency at <your location>. Please send help. OR,
- POLICE NEEDED at <my location>. Please send help. OR,
- THIS IN NOT AN EMERGENCY. I am located at <my location>. Please respond to confirm this message was received and the system works.
One of those messages gets queued up in your texting app, and you then just hit SEND.
Register here and we’ll tell you when it is ready
What else should I know about Text-to-911?
