911 help on the way from coming iOS 12
Apple’s next iPhone operating system is throwing a lifeline to the antiquated 911 response system.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company announced Monday that its forthcoming iOS 12 will automatically share a 911 caller’s location with dispatchers, allowing for “faster and more accurate information to help reduce emergency response times.”
The nation’s 911 call center infrastructure is outdated and not designed for smartphones, according to Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS, which is teaming up with Apple to make the change.
“[Emergency response] infrastructure in the United States dates back to the 1960s and 1970s,” Martin said. “It’s a voice-only system that is designed around landline phone calls.”
Apple will use a feature it designed in 2015 called Hybridized Emergency Location, or HELO, which can capture a user’s location, and pair it with RapidSOS’ tech to allow more than 6,000 call centers around the country to pinpoint you.
Local 911 call centers will receive a precise location that is triangulated using nearby cell towers, WiFi access points and the device’s own GPS signal.
“The device is recognizing that as an emergency call, and it is calculating a very accurate location, and it is transmitting it via us,” Martin said.
The National Emergency Number Association (NEMA) says that of the 240 million calls made to 911 each year, over 80 percent are made from mobile phones.
The FCC is requiring carriers to be able to locate 911 callers within 164 feet at least 80 percent of the time by 2021, but Apple says that its location services will exceed that requirement.