911When using a landline to place a 911 call, 911 call operators can track the number to a precise location, like which floor the call was made. Unfortunately this cannot be said about calls made from cellphones, thanks to weaker signals that might not be able to penetrate walls. Well it looks like things could change to help make 911 calls on cellphones more precise.

According to a report from Reuters, carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have recently entered in a deal with public safety groups. This will basically allow emergency responders to receive more precise location data. This will be achieved by using WiFi or Bluetooth-connected devices that will act as beacons, such as a connected smoke detector.

The location of these beacons will be stored on a database, and with the use of a WiFi router, it will help them determine the exact room in which the call to 911 was placed. The major carriers are currently working on a plan to allow handsets to automatically enable WiFi and Bluetooth in the event that an emergency call is made and a cellular signal cannot be found.

This is not the first time such a suggestion has been made. Earlier this year the FCC proposed that more than 10,000 lives could be saved annually if calls made by cellphones to 911 could be more precisely pinpointed.

Filed in Cellphones. Read more about , , and .

Discover more from Ubergizmo

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading