The 911 Industry Alliance warned that the country's 40-year-old 911 emergency system is outdated and unable to properly function with more advanced wireless devices, InformationWeek reports.
"The problem is that consumer technology has surpassed the 911 technology," Jeff Robertson, executive director of the 911 Industry Alliance, said, adding, "Ninety-five percent of 911 call centers are analog(-based)."
Robertson said it is often impossible to successfully send cell phone text messages to 911 centers. For example, during the Virginia Tech shootings, many "students expected that they could text message the 911 dispatch center with vital information, only to find out that the 911 network does not support text messaging, photos or multimedia messages," Robertson said quoting a new report from the industry group.
He added that the issue likely will get worse as cell phone and VoIP usage increases.
Ohio Legislation
Ohio state Reps. Larry Flowers (R) and Steven Driehaus (D) have introduced legislation to address the 911 call center problem.
The 911 Industry Alliance believes the Ohio legislation could serve as a model for other states (Gardner, InformationWeek, 5/7).