911 calls on wireless phones
By: CWTA
Date: 1999-05-25
Courtesy of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
In Canada alone, nearly three million calls per year are made to 9-1-1 or emergency numbers using a wireless phone. The explosive growth in the popularity of wireless phones, in themselves a major contributor to enhanced public safety, will lead to more and more calls being made to emergency services. Approximately 25 per cent of all 9-1-1 calls originate from a wireless phone.
When you call 9-1-1 on your home telephone, your call is sent to the nearest emergency response centre. In many locations, the 9-1-1 network also passes along your telephone number and address so a 9-1-1 operator can call you back, if necessary, and help can be sent immediately to your exact location.
Unlike your home telephone, the 9-1-1 network generally does not pass along the telephone number or any other customer information when you make a call from a mobile phone. This means that, when you call 9-1-1, you have to give your complete number to the 9-1-1 operator - including your mobile phone area code. This is important because the operator may have to call you back if you are disconnected.
In addition, you have to tell the operator, as best you can, exactly where you are. Remember, your mobile phone can be used anywhere service is available. Only you can provide your precise location or the location of the emergency.
If you are driving, stop your vehicle if it is safe to do so and look for street signs, addresses or landmarks. If you are driving on a highway, try to provide the highway number, your direction of travel and look for exit numbers, overpasses or major buildings.
Not all local governments in Canada operate 9-1-1 systems. Wireless carriers endeavour to route 9-1-1 calls to an appropriate call-taking agency (for example a local police department) in areas where no 9-1-1 service exists. However, the decision about whether or not to accept these calls rests with local authorities. Subscribers, who routinely use their mobile phones in areas where a 9-1-1 system does not exist, should know the phone numbers for police, fire and ambulance services.
The wireless telecommunications industry is committed to supporting improvements to the 9-1-1 service. CWTA sponsors a joint-industry working group that includes 9-1-1 call-takers in Canada (Public Safety Answering Points or PSAPs), wireless phone service providers, local telephone companies and government agencies. The mandate of this working group is to find a national approach to evolving wireless 9-1-1 to the same level as wireline 9-1-1.
Earlier this year, a successful trial program to improve the speed and efficiency of routing 9-1-1 calls over wireless networks concluded in Nova Scotia and talks are already underway for an expanded trial. The three-month trial, announced in November of 1998, successfully tested the ability to bypass the telephone company operator and go directly to the 9-1-1 call taker. In Nova Scotia, cellular 9-1-1 calls have typically been routed to a telephone company operator who asks callers to identify their location and then routes the call to the correct 9-1-1 call centre.
In Alberta, work is well underway on a wireless 9-1-1 trial that will involve parts of Calgary and some of the outlying areas around the city. The Alberta team is planning a staged approach to the delivery of the location of the wireless antenna (cell site) receiving a 9-1-1 call, as well as the telephone number of the mobile subscriber placing the call.
All 9-1-1 calls from wireless phones are free calls. Wireless carriers do not bill their subscribers for the airtime during a call to 9-1-1.
Tips to remember when calling 9-1-1 from a wireless phone:
- Give the operator your phone number including the area code.
- Tell the operator your location or the location of the emergency.
- Indicate what the emergency is.
- Stay on the line with the operator, you are not being billed for the airtime.
- Do not hang up until the operator advises you to do so. After hanging up, leave your wireless phone turned on in case the operator must call you back.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association is the voice of the wireless telecommunications industry in Canada. Its members include cellular, PCS, paging, mobile radio, LMCS and mobile satellite carriers, together with trade organizations that provide equipment and services to the industry.
Contact:
Marc Choma, Director of Communications, CWTA, (613) 233-4888 ext. 107
Fax: (613) 233-2032
E-mail: mchoma@cwta.ca
Web: www.cwta.ca
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