GILROY
– Public safety dispatchers won’t begin taking cellular phone
9-1-1 calls on July 1, as scheduled according to police. Instead,
the switch has been pushed back to October.
GILROY – Public safety dispatchers won’t begin taking cellular phone 9-1-1 calls on July 1, as scheduled according to police. Instead, the switch has been pushed back to October.
All emergency cell phone calls made in Santa Clara County currently go to California Highway Patrol dispatchers in Monterey, but the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury is pushing for a local switch, according to a report it issued.
That push already has begun and is expected to be complete for all agencies early next year. The first phase, which requires the wireless provider to supply all call centers with the callback number of the cellular call, should be ready to go this fall.
The final phase, which requires wireless providers to furnish the geographic coordinates of the caller in addition to the phone number, will not be complete until the first quarter of 2005 for most cities, including Gilroy and Morgan Hill.
“It’s the cell-phone companies,” said Steve Yzunza, communications supervisor with the city of Gilroy, adding that the companies have to upgrade the equipment in all of their radio towers in Santa Clara County for the change to take effect. The new technology would allow the radio tower to trace the signal and direct the call to the nearest 9-1-1 response center. According to Yzunza, this system wasn’t enacted in the first place because “they didn’t have the technology.”
The county is serviced by six major wireless companies, each with their own network of antennae with slight differences in the technology used for handling cellular calls.
Emergency calls from cell phones always have been a problem for emergency response services.
Currently all cellular 9-1-1 calls go through a centralized hub in Monterey, where the dispatcher will assess the call, then re-direct it based on information the caller provides.
However, because the phones are portable, the location of the caller can change rapidly and there are times when the caller might not know their location themselves. In addition, many cell phones have restricted numbers, and if the caller hangs up or gets cut off before all the information is provided to a dispatcher, there is no way for the call-taker to reconnect.
Currently, cell phone callers can reach local 9-1-1 centers by dialing a seven-digit number. The number for Gilroy’s center is 846-0354. Morgan Hill residents should call 779-2101, while those in San Martin should call 299-3233.
For a list of all seven-digit emergency numbers in the county, check the Federal Communications Center Web site at www.fcc.ares.races.org
