MINNEAPOLIS-U S West Wireless and SCC Communications Corp. announced the first deployment of Phase 1 wireless enhanced 911 for U S West Advanced PCS customers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
The service will route emergency calls to the nearest public safety answering point, as well as provide safety officials with critical information about a wireless caller’s general location and a call-back phone number to speed the delivery of emergency services, said the companies.
“Until now, wireless callers had to tell us exactly where they were and provide us with their wireless phone number in case we were disconnected,” said John Dejung, Minneapolis Public Safety Answering Point. “This new technology gives us vital location information, enabling us to dispatch help immediately.”
U S West said it selected a combination of E911 technology solutions, including the CellTrace and CellTrace Plus platforms provided to all wireless carriers by U S West. CellTrace Plus uses SCC Communications’ 911Connect Service to manage the flow of E911-related location and call-back number information.