Summary: If you find yourself in a troubling situation, but cannot make a phone call to a 911 dispatcher, you can now text your location and issue for help.
Finding yourself in trouble these days is still a stressful situation, but not as bad as the past due to mobile phones. But, even with mobile phones, it can still be difficult to call 911 when in a precarious situation. This issue is being rectified by the FCC and some major wireless providers.
As of right now, the wireless providers that allow text to 911 include Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. Not every state and county have call centers that support text-to-911, but the country is getting there.
In a guide posted by the FCC, the organization recommends that you find out ahead of time if your area has a call center that supports text-to-911. Do not wait until it is too late to do so.
Wireless providers and call centers that do not offer text-to-911 right now will be required to do so by the end of 2014 and must be able to respond to these requests by June 30, 2015.
The FCC still advises residents in areas that support text-to-911 still make voice calls to 911 dispatchers in an emergency if possible.
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Image credit: arstechnica.com