Why The 911 System Is Broken

More than 80% of calls to 911 come from a cellphone and often from a high-rise. But in cases when callers can't communicate their location, the over 5,000 locally run 911 centers, or public safety answering points (PSAP) aren’t easily able to track them. Fixing the system could save more than 10,000 lives and $97 billion per year according to the FCC. Major companies like Apple, Google, Motorola and startups like RapidSOS have tried to fill the technology gap, but so far, that's not enough. Watch the video to understand the conundrum of a large and fragmented national system that is run and funded locally, and how the federal government may be its only hope for a complete overhaul.

“We’re talking about diversity of equipment connecting across these IP networks in a very complex manner,” said Capt. Mel Maier of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan. “And if there are proprietary interfaces anywhere in between there, they’re not going to be able to talk. ... Our technology is continually trying to catch up and playing catch up.”

A number of companies including Apple, Motorola and start-ups are trying to fill the technology gap. RapidSOS is a data integration platform that has been adopted free of charge in about 4,800 PSAPs. According to the company, it covers about 92% of the country and assists in 150 million emergencies per year.

“We’re just scratching the surface of the amount of data that we could be using,” said Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS. “We’re passing precise location for most 911 calls now. But you can imagine all the capabilities, like in a fire if your building could talk or if your device could detect a heart attack and immediately transmit that through.”

According to Maier, who is also chairman of the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition, the tech industry can’t do it on its own. He says carriers also have a responsibility, especially when it comes to addressing the altitude problem. But in the end, he says, the federal government is needed. He’s hoping Congress will pass legislation for $15 billion toward a complete overhaul. In July, a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that included $12 billion toward 911 passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

Watch the video to learn more about how the 911 system fell behind.

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Why The 911 System Is Broken

[telmii]

As a former 911 dispatcher, I can say you all have done an excellent job on educating the general public of this broken system.

[rohankapur]

Bad Infrastructure and no federal support. There, just saved you 12 minutes.

[jasonyu]

So, we should order pizza or call Uber incase of emergency.

[berational]

I had no idea that 911 wasn’t widely adopted until early 2000s. Wow.

[Pinkpolo]

Whats even worse is how little 911 workers get paid. Its such a stressful job. The turn over rate is crazy.

[nithinvijayakumar]

That mans definitely enjoying his mechanical keyboard tho

[TrainfanJanathan]

Child: "911, my mom's unconscious."
911: "Yeah, we're just gonna ignore that. Nothing out of the ordinary there."

[Spectraevil]

Yeah and if they build the facility of getting your exact location then people will complain that govt is tracking me, any person working at that office can track anyone and all that. And this all would be dragged into privacy rights debate.

[kutter_ttl]

"Diversion of funds"

Any state that does that should be liable for anyone who dies because their underfunded system was too broken too help someone.

[grisellimay]

States: fail to fund 911 system
Also states: let's just dip into this fund for about 40 million or so

[gamingtonight]

As another commenter said: "America, is the richest Third World country".

[Trd]

All 911 call centers need the availability to get text messages.

[jblazer]

Im all for privacy, but ill happily install a 911 app on my phone if it's gonna save me or my family in an emergency.

[DanielPennybaker]

“That’s up to 3 football fields.” They did it! They did the thing!!

[sij]

Really, the US has outdated infrastructure? You’re implying that the road, rail and energy sector didn’t give it away years ago.

[lavendersunsets]

In my city 911 operator jobs are always hiring. I think it's because they have to work long hours. I think that jobs like that should offer part-time hours too. Listening to tragic situations can be draining especially if it's for a 12 hour shift.

[mithilp]

10000 lives is too less of an incentive for the government

[ke]

This video brings up a memories. Growing up my parents bought a vacation house in central WI in early 1990's. We got a card from the county Sheriff's Department telling us the proper number to call, then also had a fill in the bank area that had our "fire number" (alpha numeric house number that later became part of our address), road name, and township name. My parents kept that card next to the home phone. Sometime in the early-mid 2000's, 911 became available.

[obsidian....]

Edit: Wow, I just got to the part with the Sheriff's office... That is my County in Michigan
.
This literally just affected my family last week. My Dad had a stroke while cross country skiing. They had no idea (and no way of finding) where my mom and dad were. It was shocking and it sucks. He is getting better but it could have been horrible. The stress it caused my mom was completely unnecessary.

[elizabethm]

The money we pay on our phone bills monthly should more than pay for improvements to the 911 systems. Diversion of those funds should absolutely not be allowed.