Cellphone Carriers Planning to Allow 911 Text Messages
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: December 11, 2012
When it comes to contacting your 911 centers for help, four major cellphone carriers are planning to allow customers to send emergency text messages.
The program is set to be launched in 2014 as an enhancement, but not a substitute for, voice calls.
But even with the technology available, call centers have a lot of planning before the program becomes an option in Arkansas.
"It's going to take a lot of infrastructure, training, equipment and tax dollars for us locally to meet that need," says North Little Rock's 911 Center Deputy Coordinator Gary Gray.
Gray says the 911 system in Arkansas is struggling financially to keep pace with current technology.
For a more in-depth look at the issue, tune in Tuesday morning to KARK 4 News Today.
The program is set to be launched in 2014 as an enhancement, but not a substitute for, voice calls.
But even with the technology available, call centers have a lot of planning before the program becomes an option in Arkansas.
"It's going to take a lot of infrastructure, training, equipment and tax dollars for us locally to meet that need," says North Little Rock's 911 Center Deputy Coordinator Gary Gray.
Gray says the 911 system in Arkansas is struggling financially to keep pace with current technology.
For a more in-depth look at the issue, tune in Tuesday morning to KARK 4 News Today.
