If the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has its way, U.S. residents will have a new ways to contact 911 in case of an emergency: SMS and picture messages, and video calls direct to the call center.
The "Next Generation 911" platform will force call centers to support text messages, images, and emergency video messages.
The Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) will release a first draft white paper in February, but actually implementing a new system will take time and careful consideration.
"Today's 911 system [launched in 1968] doesn't support the communication tools of tomorrow," noted Julius Genachowski, FCC chairman, in a statement. "We primarily use our phones to text, [but] right now, you can't text 911. It's time [for] the digital age."
In case of emergency when talking on the phone isn't possible, the ability to send an emergency distress text would be a great new resource. However, first responders will still need to be able to communicate with those calling or texting in, including a text response back to confirm help is on the way.
In 2007 during the Virginia Tech school campus shooting, people on campus tried to send messages to 911 for help -- but dispatchers were unable to receive these messages, and precious minutes ticked by with no response.
In August 2009, it was announced Black Hawk County T-Mobile subscribers would have access to emergency texting services, with a wider rollout promised later. Indeed, there have been several trial runs related to new emergency services -- but a nationwide effort is the safest and best way to create standards and rules to abide by.
The explosion in popularity of text and video messaging has made some US government agencies closely evaluate how 911 can be upgraded and changed. Adding images and video into the mix could give emergency responders a better idea of what to expect when they arrive on scene.
The public will be asked next month regarding their input about new technologies that could be used for emergency response.
