UPDATE Alabama is rolling out AT&T’s new GPS-based 911 technology, noted WHNT-TV. Inside Towers previously reported on the carrier’s solution, which launched in May, allowing emergency personnel to locate a caller within 55 yards of their actual location.
Previously in northern Madison County, for instance, a 911 caller could, unknowingly, connect with a tower across the state line in Lincoln County. Prior technology would likely route that call to the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Emergency Communication District and their 911 Center causing delays in emergency response.
When 911 calls are routed through cell towers, which can serve customers up to a 10-mile radius, such calls can be routed incorrectly in areas where city, county, or state borders overlap, notes WHNT-TV. According to AT&T, these routing errors are attributed to delays in emergency response when seconds matter. With the upgraded technology, calls will route via GPS rather than cell towers, enabling more accurate answering points at 911 centers or local police/fire stations.
Considering 80 percent or more of the estimated 240 million annual 911 calls originate from cell phones, AT&T says the upgraded tech fills a need. According to the carrier, by the end of June, the technology will automatically be enabled for all 911 calls on its network (including Cricket Wireless) in Alabama.
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