If you’re in Iowa, that is.
Since almost everybody now owns a cellphone that is SMS-capable, it not that surprising that 911 emergencies can now be sent through text messages.
Last Wednesday, an emergency call center in the basement of the county jail located in Waterloo, Iowa, became the first in the country to accept text messages sent to “911”.
It might not be too long of a wait till others follow suit. Black Hawk County police chief Tomas Jennings said this service can be very convenient to many, especially to deaf and hard-of-hearing residents.
“I think there’s a need to get out front and get this technology available,” he said.
This service however, is still far from being perfect.
As of the present, only those that are within Black Hawk County and subscribers of i wireless – a local carrier affiliated with T-Mobile USA – are able to make use of the service. Intrado, the company who upgraded the call center, says that they are currently working with other carriers to make 911 texting available too.
Oh well, it’s a start right?
Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090805/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_techbit911_texting
