Speaking at a meeting of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials in Philadelphia yesterday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski talked about plans for the next generation of 911 service. It includes the ability to text a message to 911 and send along photos and video as well.
“It’s hard to imagine that airlines can send text messages if your flight is delayed, but you can’t send a text message to 911 in an emergency,” he said in his announcement. “The unfortunate truth is that the capability of our emergency response communications has not kept pace with commercial innovation — has not kept pace with what ordinary people now do every day with communications devices.”
The new 911 is being referred to as NG911 (Next Generation) and the FCC will soon begin a push to establish a method in which it can be implemented. Lots of technical and technological problems to be solved. Concurrently, the FCC is making a push to see whether an interim solution to text 911 can be implemented.
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