80% of US 911 calls are from mobiles

Analysis of 2015 data collected during 2016 from US states has shown that around 80% of 911 calls came from mobile phones, with only 16% from landlines.

In 2014 the numbers were 76% for mobile, 21% for landlines.

The figures are revealed in a new report (PDF) published by the National 911 Program.

The report also notes that “Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)2, Multi-Line Telephone Systems (MLTS)3, and text-to-911 are being used in increasing volumes”.

As far as Next Gen 911 (NG911) is concerned, many states are developing either state-wide or regional Emergency Services IP Networks (ESInets) that Public Safety Access Points (PSAPs) and 911 authorities can access.

“Implementation towards NG911 shows improvement from previous reports in all related categories with 44 reporting States in the 2015 data collection,” the report notes.

The report reveals that “12 of the 45 States (22 percent) maintain a NG911 system which is operational in 100 percent of the State and is capable of processing and interpreting location and caller information”, while “18 of 45 (41 percent) of the reporting States are 0 percent operational”.

It adds that “6 of 45 (15 percent) of the reporting States responded with a range of anywhere from 1 to 80 percent of the State as operational” and “9 of 45 (22 percent) of reporting States responded that their NG911 operational status was ‘unknown’”.

The National 911 Program is part of the US Department of Transportation and is located within the Office of Emergency Medical Services at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It is responsible for developing, collecting and disseminating information concerning practices, procedures and technology used in the implementation of 911 services.

Image courtesy NG911.

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