FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: We already have 9-1-1, why do we need a new system for cell phones?
A: Wireless and cell phones don’t work the same way as traditional landline phones when it comes to compatibility with the 9-1-1 emergency phone system. The landline 9-1-1 system uses traditional phone lines and computer databases that route calls to the right place, provide a caller’s phone number and address, and the public service departments that service the caller’s location whenever they call 9-1-1. Since the phone call emanates from a stationary location, the current 9-1-1 landline system is incredibly effective and accurate. Cell phones calls to 9-1-1 are not stationary, and because of this, finding someone in need is largely dependent on the ability of the caller to articulate the incident and location. Technology is available that can remedy this situation, but it costs money to develop, operate and implement.
Q: Why is there such urgency for this measure?
A: Since the proliferation and affordability of cellular technology, wireless phone users in the Oklahoma City metro region now number 780,000. An average of 1,000 people a month are also unplugging their traditional landline phones in favor of mobile technology. Currently, over 50 percent of 9-1-1 calls in the region come from wireless phones. It takes dispatchers three times longer to process wireless calls, due to the lack of information that would normally accompany a landline call. Incoming crisis calls without traditional enhanced 9-1-1 service are each a potential crisis themselves.
Q: What am I being asked to vote for on December 13?
A: On December 13, voters in Oklahoma, Cleveland, Canadian, Logan, McClain and Grady counties can go to the polls to vote on the approval of a 50 cent monthly user fee on cellphone bills. The funding will be used to improve the enhanced 9-1-1 system to make the system more compatible with wireless phones, particularly with providing essential location information that is needed in an emergency situation.
Q: Why does this phone service fee require a vote of the people?
A: The wireless initiative is a perfect example of intergovernmental and participatory public policy. It has involved multiple parties working in collaboration for the past few years. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates interstate communications, requires wireless carriers to make Phase II location technology available for order by December 31, 2005. Phase II technology is the core technology that enables the system to route appropriately and give a latitude and longitude of the caller. State legislation passed in the spring allows the people to approve a user fee of 50 cents per subscriber per month. Governor Brad Henry signed the bill into law in June. Six counties in the Central Oklahoma region and over 20 counties statewide have set December 13 as the election date.
Q: Where does the money go, and how is it spent?
A: The 50 cents that is collected from each wireless phone user per month goes to a dedicated fund that is used to upgrade the 9-1-1 network, the requisite databases and software that make up the system, equipment at each area answering point, training needed to operate the software, and GIS mapping and development.
Q: Is the 50 cents more than what we’re paying now for landline 9-1-1 service?
A: Since the enhanced 9-1-1 system came online in 1989, it has been funded by a three to five percent service charge on residential and business phone lines. Because of the variances in phone plans and residential and business rates, the average landline 9-1-1 service charge per month is approximately 63 cents. So, the 50 cents per month for wireless subscribers is comparable and even lower than what most people are paying now for landline. In some states, the service charge for wireless 9-1-1 is up to three dollars a month. Thirty-one states have established rates above 50 cents. Eight state are set at 50 cents, and the remaining states either have lower rates, or have not established a rate plan, or use alternative cost recovery mechanisms.
Q: If the election is successful on December 13, how long will it be before enhanced 9-1-1 is available?
A: It will take from 12 to 18 months to build-out and implement the new system. The deployment of wireless 9-1-1 requires the development of new technologies and upgrades to local answering centers, as well as coordination among 120 public safety agencies, seven wireless carriers, multiple technology vendors, equipment manufacturers and local landline carriers.
Q: How does “wireless enhanced 9-1-1” work?
A: There are two primary location technologies that can be used with the wireless 9-1-1 system. The first one is called GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), and it utilizes a global positioning system chip in the telephone that transmits latitude and longitude information through satellites and cell phone towers. The second method is called “triangulation,” and it uses several wireless towers in the area working in unison to triangulate and estimate the location of the call by providing latitude and longitude coordinates. The latitude and longitude data works through a map that the dispatcher will have on a computer screen, which will pinpoint the caller’s location and provide directions to responding police, fire and EMS units.
Q: Does this mean that the government can track us if we have cell phones?
A: Local governments, police and call-takers do not have the capability to track or follow citizens and cell phone users with this system. The only way that the location system is activated is when a 9-1-1 call is made.
Q: How effective will this new technology be?
A: The FCC's Phase II rules require wireless carriers to provide location information within 50 to 300 meters nationally. Areas having implemented the system are experiencing greater accuracy.
Q: What will happen if the vote fails?
A: If the elections don't pass, improvements for wireless access cannot be made and the current 9-1-1 system will likely deteriorate as more and more people switch to wireless phones. When people unplug their landline phones, the revenue stream that currently finances the system may get reduced to the point where it may no longer be feasible or financially viable for communities to offer enhanced 9-1-1 service. Also, since it takes dispatchers longer to process wireless calls, it will “slow down” the system, and more people and property will be placed in danger as emergency service responders will not be able to arrive in a timely fashion.
Q: Where are 9-1-1 Calls Answered?
A: There are answering points throughout the metropolitan area. Generally, landline 9-1-1 calls are answered by the municipality where the call originates. For wireless calls, the call generally goes to the nearest cell tower. Because of this, the call can sometimes go to a different municipality, and then need to be transferred, which lengthens the time to process the call. The new improved system will reduce the number of times this happens.
Q: Do local police, fire and medical personnel favor this initiative?
A: Regional police, fire and medical departments support this initiative in full because it will save lives and property and secure the safety of the citizens of Central Oklahoma. Nine-one-one dispatchers are particularly supportive because of the frustration and angst they feel when they cannot respond to a caller in need.
Q: Until improvements are made, how should I respond if I have to call 9-1-1 from my cell phone?
A: Emergency calls from wireless phones may not automatically route to the appropriate 9-1-1 call center, or provide all of the details that a call-taker needs. So, callers should be prepared to say what community they are in and, as much as possible, their specific location. Also, the caller must be patient in case the phone call needs to be transferred to the appropriate call center. When making a wireless 9-1-1 call in Central Oklahoma, you must tell the call-taker the city that you are calling from, the address of where the emergency is, or recognizable streets or landmarks that can help guide a rescuer.