Hawaii’s 911 emergency service is no longer limited to phone calls alone, but is now equipped to receive and process text messages.
Gov. David Ige announced the revamped text-to-911 system Thursday. The feature supports only plain text Short Messaging Services messages up to 160 characters per text. The system is not yet equipped to decipher pictures, videos or emojis.
Other requirements are that users utilizing the system must have an active wireless service that includes a text or data plan, and that they enable the location service on their mobile device.
The text-to-911 system may prove inaccessible to those roaming or outside their provider’s coverage area.
Ige still advised the public that calling is the preferred mode of 911 communication whenever possible because of its superior speed and efficiency in reporting details and location of emergencies. But for those with difficulty hearing or speaking, the technology could prove revolutionary.
Beyond that, the text service might prove advantageous for specific types of emergencies that require 911 assistance, such as instances involving imminent threats of violence.
Paul Ferreira, E911 Board chairman and Hawaii County Police Department deputy chief, reported a total cost of $3 million to $4 million per local area public safety answering points to upgrade the Computer Assisted Dispatch software systems and infrastructure that can now receive text messages, stated a press release from the Governor’s Office.
Federal Communications Commission data marks Hawaii as the seventh state in the nation to implement a text-to-911 system statewide. States to previously make such technology available are New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Indiana, New Jersey and North Dakota.
Info: www.hawaiitextto911.com.