 |
The County Line
- Legislative Conference Issue 2004
Out-dated equipment hinders wireless 911 calls
There are many things we take for granted in life. And, as human nature would have it, we seldom think about those things - unless, of course, they aren't available.
Certainly it isn't news that our garbage is picked up timely 51 weeks in a row. But most folks have a tendency to get hot under the collar if the garbage pickup is late one afternoon. Again, that's human nature.
The ability to contact help in time of emergency is another one of those things that we all take for granted. We have an emergency and we assume that we can pick up the phone, dial 911 and someone will be on the other end of the line to dispatch help to our location. Alabama's emergency communications districts provide a service that really cannot be measured in dollars and cents. The ability to get help, even if you are not able to speak, is worth much more than the monthly charge that is added to all telephone bills in Alabama.
And the fees are not out of line with other states. Most traditional "wired" customers pay about $1.50 per month and customers with wireless phones pay about 70 cents per month. That's not much for peace-of-mind.
In many areas of Alabama, the emergency telephone districts have enough revenue to operate. Now, few of them have enough revenue to meet the standards established by national rating organizations that would drive the citizens homeowner's insurance rates even lower. But in most places there is enough revenue to provide the basic emergency communication services.
But that's simply not the case statewide. Just the other night we were in south Alabama for a district meeting. The director of the local 911 district was in attendance at the meeting. We inquired about someone being available to respond to calls and were told that because she was attending the meeting and the "one other employee" was off that evening, 911 calls would be answered by the dispatcher in the neighboring county.
Talk about having your eyes opened to the realities of 911 in Alabama. Certainly the people in that county should not expect the TWO employees to be sitting in the call center 24 hours per day, seven days per week. But when they pick up the phone and make "their" call for help, that's when they expect someone to be standing by to take quick action. Again, that's human nature.
These 911 districts are also facing new challenges as wireless technology marches forward at an alarming pace. Certainly we all rely on cell phones and one of the major "selling points" used by the wireless companies is that the phones provide security and safety.
In most 911districts, wireless telephones account for a major portion of the calls that are received into the call center. In some areas - especially those with a heavy concentration of interstate traffic in relation to the county population - the ratio of wireless calls is even more extreme. In Cleburne County, for example, revenue from wireless telephones accounted for 11 percent of the program's operating revenue last year. But about 55 percent of the calls that were dispatched were from wireless callers!
Because we all rely on wireless communication as one of those things we "take for granted," we probably also take it for granted that our 911 service will work on our wireless communication device. But that's not really the case, either.
The active 911 districts in Alabama have all implemented what is known as "Phase I" communication for wireless devices. This technology means that those persons who have wireless telephones can dial 911 and the dispatcher will have the ability to know the location of the TOWER from which the call originates. But that's it. If you not able to speak or don’t know where you are, then the emergency response personnel simply will not know your exact location. They can guess, but that's it.
The technology known as "Phase II" allows for the 911 district to utilize computer mapping software to know the exact location of a wireless call. Only about 40 percent of the districts statewide have implemented this technology. There are several reasons for the slow implementation. The fact that the technology is expensive for the district AND it is expensive for the wireless companies is one of the most significant roadblocks.
For example, the cost for the computer software and hardware needed by the 911 district is more than $150,000 with annual maintenance, upgrades and service fees of another $50,000 or so. And that number doesn't include the extra personnel costs that are necessary to make this system operate.
Now, that may not sound like all that much money. But let's go back to Cleburne County. Last year, that 911 district received only $3,108 per month from wireless fees - or a total of $37,296. That is not enough money to pay the annual operating costs of "Phase II", much less the additional personnel needed to answer and dispatch the calls or the initial investment necessary to make the system operate.
Faced with a similar financial data, many 911 districts have just decided that the implementation of "Phase II" would just be too costly. That leaves you and I to drive around the state while taking for granted an emergency service that simply isn't available.
By the time this column reaches you, a bill will be pending in this year's session that will increase the monthly wireless phone fee from 70 cents per month to something near the statewide average charged to traditional wired telephones.
The extra money will be used to ensure that all districts implement the "Phase II" technology in the very near future and to reimburse the wireless companies for the investment they must make as well.
There will, of course, be opposition to this legislation. People will be against the increase in fees and they will claim that a few pennies per month will cause some people to elect not to purchase a wireless telephone.
And the folks who will scream the loudest are the same people who will be the most vocal when a family member is awaiting help from a 911 dispatcher working with out-dated equipment. And, I guess, that is just human nature. |
|
