Cell phones and 911

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has called for a reassessment of the capabilities of the state's 911 systems. A Homeland Security-funded evaluation found the state's 911 system to be outdated, using technology that existed in the 1960s.

Blunt has ordered the creation of a legislative committee that will review the current capabilities of 911 centers and consolidation and regionalization of services. Other issues are regions without service, mapping systems to identify wireless coverage and access to 911 for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The advent of cell phone technology is the biggest change in emergency response since the 1960s. About half the 911 calls received at the Cape Girardeau County 911 center are from cell phones, says Cape Girardeau County Emergency Operations Center director Dave Hitt. The center has the capability of tracking the origin of a call from a land line. Cell phone calls can be tracked to a tower, but the caller could be miles away and unable to relay an exact location.

The technological ability to track cell phones already exists. Most cell phones contain a satellite transmitter which can enable callers to be located through a global positioning system. Another method locates a caller through triangulation, difficult to accomplish in rural areas with fewer cellular towers.

Two issues remain to be settled. One is the cost of that kind of mapping system. Would cell phone users be charged a tax to pay for it? People who use land lines currently are. But voters in the state twice have turned down proposals to tax cell phones for 911 upgrades that would pinpoint wireless calls.

Missouri is the only state in the union lacking that ability.

The other issue is one of civil liberties. We want the government to be able to find us in an emergency. But do we want the government to have the capability of knowing where we go? The governor's call to assess these issues is a good one.