Elain Brown Tech 05.11.2022 04:May AM EDT

AT&T Provides Big Help to 911 Emergency Response With GPS Location-Tracking

AT&T provides a new feature that would enable nationwide GPS location tracking to improve safety response for 911 calls.

When a disaster strikes and an emergency arises, the public will now have the same fast, accurate, and reliable connection to the nearest 911 response centers.

This new feature AT&T launched today marks the first in the U.S. to allow routing wireless emergency calls to the appropriate call center based on the device's GPS position.

AT&T Introduces GPS Location Tracking

AT&T officially launched the first location-based routing in the United States, which routes cellular 911 calls to the nearest safety response centers based on the caller's geographic location.

With the help of Intrado's "Locate Before Route" feature, AT&T can quickly and more accurately identify where a wireless 9-1-1 call is coming from by using a device's GPS and hybrid information.

This allows the call to be routed to the correct 911 call center, also known as a public safety answering point or PSAP, which allows the call to be answered by a trained operator.

According to The Verge, AT&T has clarified that it would not utilize the function to track the whereabouts of mobile devices and that it is only activated when a user makes a 911 call. The user's location will only be known to the dispatchers at the safety response call center.

It is possible for a device to be located and routed within 50 meters of its current location by using GPS coordinates and a GPS receiver in conjunction with location-based routing. Prior to this change, wireless 9-1-1 calls were routed based on the location of cell towers, which may cover a 10-mile radius and can be used to locate a person.

Cell towers can cover a 10-mile radius and can be used to locate a person. Because of this, emergency response times may be longer, especially when a call is made in a PSAP's border areas, where state, county, and city boundaries all meet.

AT&T Emergency Calls

This is not the first time that the telecommunications company has worked closely to improve public services. More than 50 years ago, when AT&T and the Federal Communications Commission collaborated to build the first 911 systems, communication technology was vastly different with landline phones dominating the market.

AT&T is cooperating with the FCC in deploying this public safety network feature in response to the tremendous growth of wireless connections and mobile 911 calls.

In order to make communities safer, AT&T is leading the way by providing the most accurate solution to eliminate cellular 9-1-1 call transfers above and beyond what the FCC requires carriers to do today.

During an emergency situation, when lives are on the line, this is especially critical.

The majority of people nowadays, about 68%, do not have a landline phone in their homes. In addition, mobile devices are now responsible for 80% of 911 calls.

As reported by MacRumors, as of today, the countrywide rollout is underway and is currently available in the following states: Alaska; Colorado; Hawaii; Idaho; Montana; Oregon; Washington; Wyoming; Kansas; Illinois; Iowa; Minnesota; Nebraska; South Dakota; and Guam.

Over the next few weeks, additional places will be added to the list.

The nationwide rollout is expected to be completed by the end of June.