9-1-1 - Locating Callers Automatically

Locating Callers Automatically

In over 98 percent of locations in the United States and Canada, dialing "9-1-1" from any telephone will link the caller to an emergency dispatch center—called a PSAP, or Public Safety Answering Point, by the telecom industry—which can send emergency responders to the caller's location in an emergency. In most areas (approximately 96 percent of the US) enhanced 9-1-1 is available, which automatically gives dispatch the caller's location, if available. Enhanced 9-1-1 or E9-1-1 service is a North American telecommunications-based system that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party's telephone number, and routes the call to the most appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for that address. The caller's address and information (as recorded by the telephone company) are displayed to the PSAP calltaker immediately upon the site's receipt of the call. This provides emergency responders with the location of the emergency without the person calling for help having to provide it. This is often useful in cases of fires, break-ins, kidnapping, and other events where communicating one's location is difficult or impossible. In North America, the system works only if the emergency telephone number 9-1-1 is called. Calls made to other telephone numbers, even though they may be listed as an emergency telephone number, may not permit this feature to function correctly.

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