State falls behind in tracking 911 calls

By John Estus

Published: June 16, 2006

Oklahoma ranks next-to-last nationally in the availability of an enhanced 911 service that can pinpoint a cell phone caller's location, according to a federal government report.

Federal study | State legislation

A disagreement about how to pay for the required changes has delayed activation of the systems, state officials said.

The full reach of the enhanced service is available in only two Oklahoma counties, according to a survey conducted by the National Emergency Number Association Oklahoma Chapter. Those two counties represent just 2 percent of the state's population.

New Mexico is the only state with less availability than Oklahoma, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released in March.

Further, according to the report, authorities in only 13 percent of Oklahoma's counties are capable of locating cell phone towers that are relaying a particular cellular signal.

The towers could be miles from the actual caller.

An additional 18 counties still lack enhanced 911 for landlines, according to the National Emergency Number Association.

Such a system allows authorities to see an address when a 911 call is made using a home or business phone.

There are two phases to installing wireless enhanced 911 service. In the first phase, dispatchers can locate the cell phone tower used to relay a wireless signal. The second phase uses triangulation technology to pinpoint a caller's specific location within 900 feet.

Grady and McClain are the only counties in the state using the triangulation technology. McClain County 911 coordinator Randy Rable said the county is breaking even on the cost of wireless enhanced 911. Wireless customers in McClain County pay a monthly 50-cent fee for the service.

More wireless 911 calls
The state lacks wireless call-tracing services despite widespread increases in cell phone use, particularly for 911 calls.

The accountability office reported about 200 million emergency calls are placed nationwide each year. Nearly 82 million come from mobile phones.

Of the nearly 300,000 calls Oklahoma City metro area emergency dispatchers received in 2005, about 47 percent came from mobile phones, according to Association of Central Oklahoma Governments.

How wireless system helps
The association's research shows that rural area dispatchers often receive higher percentages of wireless calls than urban areas.

That's why officials in McClain County decided to install the second phase of enhanced 911 service. Since rural areas typically lack the landmarks and the recognizable intersections of urban areas, McClain County dispatchers struggled to determine cell phone callers' locations.

"It's just more difficult to locate yourself in a rural area," Rable said.

Rable said 60 percent to 70 percent of McClain County's 911 calls come from mobile phones.

"The very first day that we put enhanced 911 wireless online, we saved a gentleman's life that was having allergic reactions to a drug that he was taking," Rable said.

The allergic reaction was so severe the man couldn't tell the dispatcher his location. The dispatcher was able to pinpoint his mobile phone location and provide it to emergency responders in about 30 seconds, Rable said.

"There's no question that 911 saves lives," Rable said. "There's no way you can justify being able to find 30 or 40 percent of your 911 callers and not be able to find 60 or 70 percent."

Cost dispute
The cost of wireless enhanced 911 service is split between counties, service providers and customers.

Wireless service providers initially demanded to recover costs from counties for expenses related to the service.

"If that happened, only metropolitan areas could break even," said Robin Young, president of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Emergency Number Association.

State officials and wireless providers tried for three years to resolve the issue before legislation passed in 2005.

A 50-cent per month service fee paid by customers helps municipalities pay for 911 service.

SBC Communications Inc, which has since changed its name to AT&T Inc., is the 911 provider for most of the state's 911 call centers.

Young said 15 of Oklahoma's 77 counties are expected by 2008 to have a system allowing authorities to find the location of a cell phone 911 caller.

Contributing: Bryan Dean