As of Thursday, the four major wireless carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon — have gone live with the national?text-to-911 program. You can now text 9-1-1 instead of calling.
This new service is expected to be helpful in the following circumstances:
- If a person is hearing or speech impaired
- Not enough signal
- Calling is dangerous such as in a kidnapping situation or domestic abuse.
There are some frustrating limitations to the service, however. Many call centers aren’t prepared to receive text messages. Only select counties in 16 states are able to provide this service. If you live in a county or state that can’t receive texts, you’ll receive a bounce-back text instructing you to call instead.
Also, 9-1-1 calls are given network priority. A text could take longer to reach the dispatcher.
The FCC is encouraging states and counties to to implement the service. For now, it’s better to call if you can.
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