I serve as a county commissioner in Minnesota, and at a recent meeting we were discussing upgrading some phone computer software when this question was raised, ?I live in a city that is on the border of our county. If I dial 911 on my cell phone, will it go to our county, or to the neighboring county?s sheriff?s dispatch, since I live closer to them?? Good question.
A 911 call should go to the county dispatch where the call is made. If another county gets the call in error, they will immediately forward it to the correct county. Technology and equipment continues to become more sophisticated, including the ways Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are used.
Newer cell phones have GPS which is the space-based system that gives location and time information, provided there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.
But let?s say you have an older phone without GPS, and realize you are in personal distress. You dial 911, utter the single word, ?Help,? then pass out. Sheriff?s dispatchers, by triangulating cell phone towers should be able to figure out where you are, by how far you are from a tower.?
GPS was originally developed for military intelligence, but President Ronald Reagan issued a directive to include use by civilians as well. Fast forward to the current decade when the Federal Communications Commission decreed that all cell phones must have GPS capability by 2018.
Some might argue that ruling is an invasion of privacy. Some have disabled the GPS in their cell phones. I value my right to privacy, but I also hope that in the event of an emergency, responders would be able to locate me quickly. What are your thoughts?
Christine Husom is the author of the Winnebago County Mystery Series; Murder in Winnebago County, Buried in Wolf Lake, An Altar by the River, and The Noding Field Mystery.
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Source: http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/gps-for-911-by-christine-husom/
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