Marty
05-01-2002, 12:22 PM
FCC Issues Rules for Emergency Calls from 911-Only Cell Phones
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has taken steps to improve the ability of public safety agencies to respond to callers who are using phones capable of dialing 911 only. ###If an emergency call is interrupted from a phone that can only reach 911, the safety agency can't call back. ###Under the new rules: non-initialized phones donated through carrier-sponsored programs and newly manufactured "911-only" phones must be programmed with the code 123-456-7890 as the "phone number," to alert dispatchers that the 911 call is being made from a wireless phone that lacks call-back capability; non-initialized phones must be labeled to alert the user to the lack of call-back capability; and public education programs must be instituted by carriers and manufacturers to more fully inform users of the limitation of non-initialized phones.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has taken steps to improve the ability of public safety agencies to respond to callers who are using phones capable of dialing 911 only. ###If an emergency call is interrupted from a phone that can only reach 911, the safety agency can't call back. ###Under the new rules: non-initialized phones donated through carrier-sponsored programs and newly manufactured "911-only" phones must be programmed with the code 123-456-7890 as the "phone number," to alert dispatchers that the 911 call is being made from a wireless phone that lacks call-back capability; non-initialized phones must be labeled to alert the user to the lack of call-back capability; and public education programs must be instituted by carriers and manufacturers to more fully inform users of the limitation of non-initialized phones.