Canadians using Android phones now benefit from more accurate location when calling 9-1-1

Google’s Emergency Location Service (ELS) is now available for all Android users in Canada.

The search giant told MobileSyrup that ELS “will be 100% rolled out in Canada on Monday” thanks to an initiative supported by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Emergency Services Working Group (ESWG) and its partners, Bell, Telus and RapidSOS, also supported the initiative.

In 2021, the CRTC said about 80 percent of 9-1-1 calls are made on wireless devices. However, locating mobile devices with traditional emergency technologies can be challenging and often results in search areas that are too large.

Google created ELS to address that problem. It uses similar technology to the blue dot that shows your location in Google Maps to help emergency services locate people who call them using an Android phone.

When Android users call 9-1-1, ELS automatically sends device-based location information using a combination of Wi-Fi, GPS and cell towers to emergency services. This helps provide emergency services with more reliable, accurate location information so they can respond faster. Google stressed that ELS is only used for emergency service providers and that Google never sees or handles users’ precise location.

ELS is available on over 99.9 percent of Android phones running version 5 or newer and functions across all Canadian provinces and territories where 9-1-1 is available, regardless of mobile provider. Google notes that in regions where 9-1-1 call location information isn’t directly shared by telecommunications companies, like Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories, Google worked with RapidSOS to make location data available to emergency service providers.

Those interested can learn more about ELS here.

Source: Google