Canada could actually see texting 911 for emergencies happen after trials

This is an interesting move but it seems that the CRTC in Canada is going to be conducting trials of people being able to text 911 when there is an emergency. The trial is currently going to be available in Montreal, Toronto, Peel, Vancouver; and will run for a three-month period.

What the CRTC is aiming to do with this is make it easier for those people with deafness and speech impediments be able to communicate with emergency services when there is an emergency situation happening.

The trial will have at least 120 people involved and will be carried out by Canada’s third largest mobile carrier Telus.

“It’s a huge safety issue for someone to be able to get hold of 911 services in a timely manner,” said Mandy Conlon, provincial accessibility coordinator for the Canadian Hearing Society’s 911 improvement project. “There are definitely people who have not been able to get a timely answer to their 911 calls specifically because of this issue, they don’t have access to 911 the way a hearing person does.”

“What this texting service does is it essentially bolts that location technology onto text messaging functionality so someone who is deaf, or who has a speech impairment and can’t talk to the 911 operator, can text the relevant information,” said Telus spokesman Shawn Hall. “It’s important that it works this way because it combines the powerful aspects of a voice call, particularly that location functionality with texting, and if you are unable to speak, you will be able to text information — such as ‘there’s a fire,’ ‘my spouse has had a heart attack. This will help bring the best possible 911 services to someone who is deaf or who has a speech disability.”

via TechVibes

Wow, the CRTC actually doing something besides siding with the telcos and screwing the consumer – amazing.