Android Phones: Dialing 911 Automatically Shares Your Location

Google has deployed the Emergency Locator Service (ELS) for Android phones in the United States. Therefore, calls to 911 will now automatically share the location of a device with emergency services.

Google is partnering with T-Mobile and RapidSOS, an emergency service provider, to provide the ELS system in the United States. For the US Virgin Islands, Google is partnering with emergency technology company West and local wireless provider Viya.

ELS is supported on Android 4.0 and later, which means that about 99% of Android device owners can benefit from better sharing of position when on a call d & # 39; emergency. Users do not need to install a separate application or update the operating system.

Location information is shared with emergency services without going through Google servers.

As CNET points out, the vast majority of emergency calls in the United States are made from mobile devices, according to statistics from the National Emergency Number Association.

The new system could help in situations where someone calls 911 from a mobile but can not explain his position accurately to the operator, for example, if he does not know the area, Do not speak English or if the call is interrupted. of.

SEE: How we learned to talk to computers and how they learned to respond (PDF cover page)

According to Google, emergency service centers in the United States estimate that the ELS can reduce the "average uncertainty radius" by more than half, from 552 feet to 121 feet or 159 meters to 37 meters.

Android support for ELS in the US comes as Apple deploys iOS 12, the first version of iOS to enable ELS for iPhone users. Apple announced the launch of the emergency call feature in June and is also partnering with RapidSOS.

The indoor and outdoor location data of ELS is based on a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile networks and sensors.

Google has already deployed ELS support in 14 other countries, so it has some concrete examples where it has been helped.

In New Zealand, one person reported a fire but did not know where he was on the road. Fire and Emergency New Zealand were able to use ELS to locate the caller and the fire.

The New Zealand government recently reported that 20% of the 145,000 calls made since deploying its ELS system relied on automatically shared location data.

Previous and related coverage

Apple to iPhone owners: "iOS 12 will automatically share your position in 911 calls"

The 911 call from an iPhone will soon automatically share the location of the device with the 911 centers.

Google partners with T-Mobile to get more accurate 911 location data

Enhanced Location Service works on 99% of active Android phones.

Here's how to disable Emergency SOS on iPhone and Apple Watch

The Apple iOS 11 operating system includes an ideal SOS feature when you do not feel safe in an emergency, but you can disable the functionality of your iPhone or Apple Watch for avoid accidentally calling 911.

Baltimore 911 Emergency Dispatch hacked, off-line for 17 hours (TechRepublic)

The cyberattack has slowed down the response times, as dispatchers have to resort to manual methods.