CRTC congratulates Canadian wireless providers that “have risen to the challenge” of upgrading 911 services

Exactly 1-year ago the CRTC mandated that Canadian wireless service providers to upgrade their 911 services, mainly because the technology was lacking to locate urgent calls and caused a number of deaths. Today the CRTC sent out a release and congratulated the Canadian wireless industry and the public safety community for having improved 911 services.

Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC “We are delighted that wireless service providers have risen to the challenge of upgrading their 911 services. Canada is now one of the few countries where 911 operators automatically receive location information from the moment a call is placed from a cellphone. Thanks to the collective efforts of everyone involved, the safety of Canadians will be greatly improved during emergency situations that require quick action.”

I personally would not have set “risen to the challenge” as it was mandated… but do acknowledge how much time and effort something of this magnitude does take. 911 call centres across the country can now pinpoint your location better by using the GPS in your device.

The CRTC says that “the wireless-location technology has been tested and rolled out in 121 call centres across the country. The wireless industry and the public safety community are working to resolve technical issues at 9 additional call centres. The Commission is monitoring their progress and fully expects that solutions will be found in the coming weeks, allowing every enhanced 911 call centre in Canada to make use of the technology.”

More here at CRTC