It is up to every state and county to fund their own 911 system, and the quality and capability is up to the authorities who operate these systems and the willingness of the voters to fund them. While much of the nation is looking at how they will implement next-generation 911, there are many places that have not implemented enhanced 911 (to include cellphone location).
For the individual taxpayer, it is not important, until it is you — and, then it becomes very important. Alas, if things go sideways, it is too late to fix the system to provide a better response for you.
All of the above is another example of how we, as Americans, are exceptional in that we are not motivated to take action until there is a high-profile incident or disaster — that calls attention to the shortfall in planning, equipment or regulation. As a fire marshal once told me, "Eric, every line in the fire code is written in blood."
