Cellphone users to get better 911 services, but it still not like the movies

Published on January 28, 2010; Published on February 24, 2010
The Canadian Press ~ The News

Topics :: Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Service , CRTC , MONTREAL , Canada

MONTREAL - Cellphone users will get improved 911 service, starting on Monday, that should more accurately locate where they are.

But the head of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Service says the service won't be like what's seen on TV, or in the movies, because it won't able to pinpoint locations.

Bernard Lord says emergency services will be able to locate callers better than before using either GPS technology on mobile phones or through the use of cell towers.

But Lord says technology doesn't exist to "pinpoint" precisely people. The enhanced service can be as accurate as three metres to about 100 metres.

He says more than half of all 911 calls in Canada are made from cellphones.

The CRTC had given wireless carriers until Feb. 1 to provide the improved 911 service after several people died because emergency dispatchers couldn't specify their locations when calling from cellphones.

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