Government Technology

911 Mapping System Pinpoints Cell Phone Callers


You May Also Like

February 2, 2010 By

There are still too many stories about 911 call centers around the country lacking in their ability to respond the way most residents expect.

But there is good news as well, and one example is Escambia County, Fla., which installed a new mapping system that pinpoints 911 calls originating from cell phones. The FCC requires that 67 percent of wireless calls be locatable within 50 meters. That may not be helpful if the caller is in a building with many stories like an apartment or office complex.

With the new PlantCML system, a map pops up on the call taker's monitor and displays a red and yellow circle marking the caller's address or location. Previously call takers had to type in latitude and longitude coordinates on MapQuest or Google Maps. The graphics pinpoint the caller's location with a red and yellow circle as the operator maintains a conversation with the caller or dispatches a first responder.

The deployment of the mapping software took place in November and December 2009 and has worked well. There's a question about how well it will pinpoint calls from some of the older cell phones, however.

The mapping software deployment was part of three 911 projects, aided by three state grants.


View Full Story

You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/911-Mapping-System-Pinpoints-Cell-Phone.html


| More

Comments


Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. We reserve the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

GovTech Papers and Case Studies View Library


Sponsored Links



Phone RSS

Government Best Practices

» A New Model for Human Resources
» Abandoning the High Cost of Enterprise Content Management



Government Technology
Public CIO
Emergency Management
Digital Communities