911 from a mobile is not reliable: KIRO reports 2 of 30 ca..

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Emergency Calls Reach Wrong 911 Center
Wayne Havrelly KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
UPDATED: 10:18 AM PDT May 18, 2004

When you make a 911 call, seconds can mean the difference between life
and death. If you use a cell phone, we discovered the 911 operator
might not know where you are.

<snip>

With the help of emergency officials and cell phone providers, we
tested a local 911 system. We checked out a problem one of our
viewers experienced -- a problem that cost him precious minutes during
a recent emergency.

Scott Manard spotted a terrible accident and stopped to help. "This
poor guy was in severe pain and in need of medical attention," Manard
said. (He) called 911 on his cell phone, but the operator wasn't
familiar with the highway he was on. After being on hold several
minutes, the 911 operator gave him a number to call in Eastern
Washington.

"I said 'I'm in Western Washington. Why are you giving me that
number?' She said 'Well, where are you?' I'd already told her where I
was, I said, 'Kitsap County is in Western Washington,' and she was
stunned!" The confused 911 operator was several counties away!

Fortunately, someone with a 2-way radio drove by and alerted a nearby
fire department. The victim survived, but he's still in the hospital
after almost three months.

<snip>

Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
pinpoint where the calls are coming from.

<snip>

So when you call 911, tell the operator what county you're in -- just
in
case the information on the screen they're looking at is wrong.

Copyright 2004 by KIROTV.com.

http://www.kirotv.com/consumer/3315808/detail.html
 
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In article <f90c7f43.0405250915.7632dcb2@posting.google.com>,
johnbartley@email.com (John Bartley I solved my XP problems w/
Service Pack Linux) wrote:

> So when you call 911, tell the operator what county you're in -- just
> in
> case the information on the screen they're looking at is wrong.

And if You're in New Mexico they might refuse to help you claiming
you're not in the United States.
 

user

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I just read someone in Massaschusetts called 911 and got Minnesota so
they coudnt report an accident they saw

On 25 May 2004 10:15:46 -0700, johnbartley@email.com (John Bartley I
solved my XP problems w/ Service Pack Linux) said:

>Emergency Calls Reach Wrong 911 Center
>Wayne Havrelly KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
>UPDATED: 10:18 AM PDT May 18, 2004
>
>When you make a 911 call, seconds can mean the difference between life
>and death. If you use a cell phone, we discovered the 911 operator
>might not know where you are.
>
><snip>
>
>With the help of emergency officials and cell phone providers, we
>tested a local 911 system. We checked out a problem one of our
>viewers experienced -- a problem that cost him precious minutes during
>a recent emergency.
>
>Scott Manard spotted a terrible accident and stopped to help. "This
>poor guy was in severe pain and in need of medical attention," Manard
>said. (He) called 911 on his cell phone, but the operator wasn't
>familiar with the highway he was on. After being on hold several
>minutes, the 911 operator gave him a number to call in Eastern
>Washington.
>
>"I said 'I'm in Western Washington. Why are you giving me that
>number?' She said 'Well, where are you?' I'd already told her where I
>was, I said, 'Kitsap County is in Western Washington,' and she was
>stunned!" The confused 911 operator was several counties away!
>
>Fortunately, someone with a 2-way radio drove by and alerted a nearby
>fire department. The victim survived, but he's still in the hospital
>after almost three months.
>
><snip>
>
>Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
>By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
>pinpoint where the calls are coming from.
>
><snip>
>
>So when you call 911, tell the operator what county you're in -- just
>in
>case the information on the screen they're looking at is wrong.
>
>Copyright 2004 by KIROTV.com.
>
>http://www.kirotv.com/consumer/3315808/detail.html
 

Jim

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First off... Calls to 911 follow routing set by the FCC... ROuting is
not based on your physical location, rather on the location of the
site and/or controller you are registred on...

Example you live in Lakeland FL, on the edge of town... The site you
connect through from your home is located outside the city limits...
Your 911 call from your handset will/must be routed to the County 911
center... Not metro Lakeland... Federal regulations...

Second, if you ever personally expereince such a failure as was
demonstrated... ie cannot properly connect to 911, when you have any
network available... contact you carrier immediately from the same or
as near to same location...

Federal regulations requires misrouting, or failures to be responded
to within a very short period...

Call report failure or problems, so then can be corrected...




user@comcast.net wrote in message news:<5mo7b05cslifmn1p38vsdeobdi33542v2d@4ax.com>...
> I just read someone in Massaschusetts called 911 and got Minnesota so
> they coudnt report an accident they saw
>
> On 25 May 2004 10:15:46 -0700, johnbartley@email.com (John Bartley I
> solved my XP problems w/ Service Pack Linux) said:
>
> >Emergency Calls Reach Wrong 911 Center
> >Wayne Havrelly KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
> >UPDATED: 10:18 AM PDT May 18, 2004
> >
> >When you make a 911 call, seconds can mean the difference between life
> >and death. If you use a cell phone, we discovered the 911 operator
> >might not know where you are.
> >
> ><snip>
> >
> >With the help of emergency officials and cell phone providers, we
> >tested a local 911 system. We checked out a problem one of our
> >viewers experienced -- a problem that cost him precious minutes during
> >a recent emergency.
> >
> >Scott Manard spotted a terrible accident and stopped to help. "This
> >poor guy was in severe pain and in need of medical attention," Manard
> >said. (He) called 911 on his cell phone, but the operator wasn't
> >familiar with the highway he was on. After being on hold several
> >minutes, the 911 operator gave him a number to call in Eastern
> >Washington.
> >
> >"I said 'I'm in Western Washington. Why are you giving me that
> >number?' She said 'Well, where are you?' I'd already told her where I
> >was, I said, 'Kitsap County is in Western Washington,' and she was
> >stunned!" The confused 911 operator was several counties away!
> >
> >Fortunately, someone with a 2-way radio drove by and alerted a nearby
> >fire department. The victim survived, but he's still in the hospital
> >after almost three months.
> >
> ><snip>
> >
> >Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
> >By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
> >pinpoint where the calls are coming from.
> >
> ><snip>
> >
> >So when you call 911, tell the operator what county you're in -- just
> >in
> >case the information on the screen they're looking at is wrong.
> >
> >Copyright 2004 by KIROTV.com.
> >
> >http://www.kirotv.com/consumer/3315808/detail.html
 
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Somewhere around 25 May 2004 10:15:46 -0700, John Bartley I solved my
XP problems w/ Service Pack Linux was brave enough to write:

>Emergency Calls Reach Wrong 911 Center
>Wayne Havrelly KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
>UPDATED: 10:18 AM PDT May 18, 2004
>
>When you make a 911 call, seconds can mean the difference between life
>and death. If you use a cell phone, we discovered the 911 operator
>might not know where you are.
>

I have had to make two 911 calls and both worked perfectly. Granted I
am in a major metro area and that may be part of the reason.

>
>Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
>By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
>pinpoint where the calls are coming from.
>

This is where I have a problem. They made 30 FAKE calls to an
emergency service. Isn't some law against this sort of thing? <smile>

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I started out with nothing & still have most of it left.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tnpnr@mind+spring.com
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w.g. wrote:

>>Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
>>By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
>>pinpoint where the calls are coming from.
>
> This is where I have a problem. They made 30 FAKE calls to an
> emergency service. Isn't some law against this sort of thing? <smile>

Part of what you snipped said:

With the help of emergency officials and cell phone providers, we
tested a local 911 system.

:)
 
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Somewhere around Wed, 26 May 2004 14:50:10 GMT, ekk was brave enough
to write:

>w.g. wrote:
>
>>>Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
>>>By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
>>>pinpoint where the calls are coming from.
>>
>> This is where I have a problem. They made 30 FAKE calls to an
>> emergency service. Isn't some law against this sort of thing? <smile>
>
>Part of what you snipped said:
>
> With the help of emergency officials and cell phone providers, we
> tested a local 911 system.
>
Now that I am awake , you are correct. Just reread it and all that can
be said is , my bad. <smile>


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tnpnr@mind+spring.com
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This is because in each state or area, the cellular 911 calls go to a
different organization. In central Ohio where I live, they go to the
sheriff's dept who then routes them to the correct police or fire.

What do people expect? When you are mobile, the 911 routing system
has no idea what emergency you have until you TELL someone.



On 25 May 2004 10:15:46 -0700, johnbartley@email.com (John Bartley I
solved my XP problems w/ Service Pack Linux) wrote:

>Emergency Calls Reach Wrong 911 Center
>Wayne Havrelly KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
>UPDATED: 10:18 AM PDT May 18, 2004
>
>When you make a 911 call, seconds can mean the difference between life
>and death. If you use a cell phone, we discovered the 911 operator
>might not know where you are.
>
><snip>
>
>With the help of emergency officials and cell phone providers, we
>tested a local 911 system. We checked out a problem one of our
>viewers experienced -- a problem that cost him precious minutes during
>a recent emergency.
>
>Scott Manard spotted a terrible accident and stopped to help. "This
>poor guy was in severe pain and in need of medical attention," Manard
>said. (He) called 911 on his cell phone, but the operator wasn't
>familiar with the highway he was on. After being on hold several
>minutes, the 911 operator gave him a number to call in Eastern
>Washington.
>
>"I said 'I'm in Western Washington. Why are you giving me that
>number?' She said 'Well, where are you?' I'd already told her where I
>was, I said, 'Kitsap County is in Western Washington,' and she was
>stunned!" The confused 911 operator was several counties away!
>
>Fortunately, someone with a 2-way radio drove by and alerted a nearby
>fire department. The victim survived, but he's still in the hospital
>after almost three months.
>
><snip>
>
>Out of the 30 calls we made, only two made it the correct 911 center.
>By the end of this year most 911 centers will have equipment to better
>pinpoint where the calls are coming from.
>
><snip>
>
>So when you call 911, tell the operator what county you're in -- just
>in
>case the information on the screen they're looking at is wrong.
>
>Copyright 2004 by KIROTV.com.
>
>http://www.kirotv.com/consumer/3315808/detail.html
 
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Typical for a media outlet reporting HALF of the story......
People have NO IDEA how a 911 call center works. With various
cellular services scattered across the country, and the way boundaries
are drawn for 911 service, unless you TELL THE 911 operator WHERE
you are, they won't be able to route the call correctly. Until either
GPS, or the ANI/ALI catches up with wireless telephones, there isn't
any way to track a 911 call. I've been a 911 operator for over a
dozen years. On the ANI/ALI screen for a wired call, it displays
the phone number, the registered owner, their address, the agency
which provides police, fire, ambulance service right on the screen.
But, on a wireless phone, it only displays the wireless number, along
with the tower the call is coming from.


>
>>Emergency Calls Reach Wrong 911 Center
>>Wayne Havrelly KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
>>UPDATED: 10:18 AM PDT May 18, 2004
>>
>>When you make a 911 call, seconds can mean the difference between life
>>and death. If you use a cell phone, we discovered the 911 operator
>>might not know where you are.
>>
>><snip>
>>
 
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<Lizard@Lair.com> wrote in message
news:v7hac01sm1d4ekgt3dbrbippbkkk0ht1k4@4ax.com...
> What do people expect? When you are mobile, the 911 routing system
> has no idea what emergency you have until you TELL someone.

How is this different from a wireline 911 call? *Any* call to 911, from
*any* source, could be either a fire or a police emergency.
 
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"Name withheld by request" <none@none.com> wrote in message
news:jtmcc0pg2irgubg10gbf6emspm8dunet92@4ax.com...
> you are, they won't be able to route the call correctly. Until either
> GPS, or the ANI/ALI catches up with wireless telephones, there isn't

At least some of the wireless carriers have had the necessary technology for
a couple of years now, pioneered by Sprint, which indeed put GPS reception
into its phones back in 2002. (Sprint's system actually combines GPS
reception with cell-site triangulation in order to compute a location
quickly and accurately even within buildings or inter-building "canyons.")

The delay in providing this service is primarily due to 911 centers, which
must levy taxes or allocate budget to buy and install new software (and
maybe new hardware as well). Wireline carriers then have to be ordered to
provide the proper data connectivity between the wireless carriers and the
911 centers.

Money is often the sticking point. In one case, a county actually levied a
tax specifically to upgrade 911 centers for this purpose, but then the
county blew the money on something else, essentially to cover a typical
bloated-budget deficit. And the politicians who did this weren't even sorry
for their criminal misappropriation of funds! In another case, a wireline
carrier demanded that the wireless carriers pay for the data connectivity to
the 911 centers--even though the wireless carriers had already spent
$billions to implement the new locating system.