AT&T upgrade will use GPS to find the location of 911 callers in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas -- A new GPS-based feature will help emergency operators locate 911 cell phone callers in El Paso quicker, AT&T officials say.
The new “Locate before Route” will use GPS tracking to pinpoint the caller within 55 yards of their exact location.
Previously, cell phone users had to register their phone addresses to allow 911 operators a headstart.
Cell tower tracking was another manner of locating callers in distress but gave a much larger area to search.
Emergency operators are no strangers to tracking a caller's location.
With the AT&T upgrade, GPS will be a major key in pinpointing the location of a cell phone caller within 55 yards of their exact location.
"Eighty percent of calls to 911 today originate from a mobile device so what this does again for AT&T customers is getting that precise more accurate information because you know in emergencies seconds count," said Lynette Aguilar AT&T Vice President.
Scott Calderwood director of the El Paso county 911 district says how important this upgrade in technology is.
"The job of a 911 dispatcher is to gather all of the situational awareness and get first responders in the field as quickly as possible. The more technology we can bring in to gather the situational awareness the faster they can respond and you know the better bit is gonna be for our community as a whole," said Calderwood.
Before this addition, cell towers were used for tracking and were only able to narrow down the radius within several miles of the caller's location.
"It used to be with the tower-like ten-mile radius. What we are now able to do with the GPS is get down to your location by about 50 meters which is half of a football field," said Aguilar
"Getting to the right dispatcher who is the closest to you if you're not sure exactly where you are, they can still get resources close to you to help in an emergency," said Aguilar
Calderwood says advancements like these help to save more lives.
"Its gonna make first responders life's easier. Its gonna make first responders' lives easier," said Calderwood
