Security Technology Executive

NOV-DEC 2017

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INFRASTRUCTURE FOCUS T oday, millions of callers pick up their smartphones to call for urgent assistance from first responders throughout the U.S. and Canada. For landline call- ers, emergency responders can be sent directly to the caller 's house address based on their phone number in their moment of need, however much has changed over the past decade. The greatest evolution of personal communications devices is the mobility offered, through their ability to connect wirelessly. However, with phone numbers and devices no longer being physi- cally connected to a fixed point on the planet, the basic construct of using a telephone number for call routing becomes irrelevant. With 80 percent or more of all calls to 911 originating on the cellular network, this creates a dichotomy of functionality. The Digital Revolution Popular services like Uber have the ability to utilize location-based services through the use of an app. The smartphone device is very aware of its location, through the use of GPS, Wi-Fi BSS ID identifiers, as well as proximity to other known devices all being used as beacons. Applications running on the device contact one of several location ser- vices companies, and an approximate position along with a confidence factor is returned. However, because 911 is a telephone call, there is no app. There is no ability to view the location-based parameters Why Can Uber Find Me But Emergency Services Can't? How can emergency services keep up with and better leverage modern day technology By Mark Fletcher Popular services like Uber have the ability to utilize location-based services through the use of an app. Image Courtesy of BigStock.com

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