The state should move forward on a system that would allow emergency workers to automatically locate 911-callers using cellular telephones.

When someone dials 911, they have a situation that needs immediate attention. They may need to report a crime or accident or they may be involved in a life-threatening situation.

In Douglas County, the enhanced 911 system allows a police dispatcher to immediately locate the caller  IF the call is being made from a wireline phone, one that has a base station plugged into a phone jack. If the call is coming from a wireless cell phone, dispatchers can’t make that connection. If callers don’t know where they are or are unable to talk to the dispatcher, emergency crews can lose precious time in reaching the caller.

Expanding 911 locater service for people talking on cellular phones may not be the top issue on the Kansas Legislature’s agenda during the current wrap-up session, but a measure to provide that service still may come to the floor for consideration. If issues in the bill can be worked out, it could be a huge boon to cellular phone users.

According to the director of the Douglas County Emergency Communications Center, 40 percent of the 40,000 911 calls made in Douglas County last year were made from cellular phones. That compares to 15 percent of the 911 calls received in 1996.

So last year, 16,000 emergency 911 calls were made from cellular phones. Many of those calls probably came from people who were away from home, perhaps in a car. They might have been on their way somewhere and didn’t know their exact location. Or they may have lost consciousness after dialing 911. At least one death in Wyandotte County has been attributed to the fact that emergency personnel couldn’t find the woman who had dialed 911 on a cell phone.

Current 911 service is funded by a locally imposed assessment of up to 75 cents a month on wireline phones. Cellular phone customers don’t pay that fee. They are receiving their basic 911 service for free, but how much would they be willing to pay for the extra measure of security an automatic locator system would offer? Many people carry cellular phones in the cars largely because it offers them a measure of security that they could call for help if they needed it. Wouldn’t it be worth at least 75 cents a month to have access to the enhanced 911 system?

Douglas County already has the equipment it needs to offer expanded wireless 911 service, but the cellular networks don’t currently supply the necessary locater signal. Among the questions that would have to be resolved by legislators is whether to set up a statewide funding mechanism for wireless 911 service or allow individual counties to institute their own systems and fees. Large-population counties would like to control their own funding, but many small-population counties would be unable to begin wireless 911 locater service without supplemental funding.

A statewide funding system seems to make sense. There may be far more cell-phone users living in the state’s larger population centers, but when they travel to other parts of the state, they must depend on 911 systems in other counties. If small-population counties can’t afford to implement the enhanced system, large, dangerous gaps in service would result.

A 911 system that allows dispatchers to locate the callers would benefit law enforcement and emergency personnel as well as enhance the safety of callers. Hopefully, legislators can work out the details of funding such a system.