DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – Alabama first responders, as well as those across the country, will have an even greater ability to find and send help to wireless 9-1-1 callers.
AT&T on Tuesday announced that their new “Locate Before Route” feature is live across the state. The new technology was announced by the telecommunications company back in May with immediate rollout in 16 states and Guam, with additional regions and nationwide coverage expected to be completed by the end of June. That nationwide goal was accomplished with their announcement on June 28.
How the technology works is when a 9-1-1 call is placed from a mobile phone on the network, GPS is used to provide a more accurate location of where the caller is at. According to their May press release, the call will be able to be targeted to a 50-meter radius, or about half a football field. The traditional method of going off cell tower information resulted in a much wider 10-mile radius that the call could be triangulated to, creating potential delays in first responders needing to locate the individual or the scene of the incident.
The wireless carrier will be the first to launch location-based routing nationwide that works with all 9-1-1 call centers, regardless of if they are using updated NextGen technology or older operating systems. This is further helped through AT&T’s exclusive partnership with the First Responder Network Authority, a.k.a. FirstNet, which delivers end-to-end emergency communication solutions to support the public safety community.
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