Blippie
2004-02-19 10:07:20 UTC
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust has implemented a system to
automatically pinpoint the location of a caller phoning 999 from a mobile
phone. About 750 mobile calls - about a quarter of all emergency calls -
are received by the service every day, with the caller often unsure about
their exact location.
Research has shown that improved location awareness cuts an average of 30
seconds off emergency calls.
With the new system, when a mobile 999 call is connected to the control
room, the operator can see an on-screen map of the part of London the person
is calling from, enabling them to allocate resources faster. The service is
able to receive data about the location of the mobile phone 'cell' that
transmits the call, which shows an ellipse on the operator's map indicating
the approximate location. The information details the coverage area of the
cell from which the mobile call was made, which can be between 500m and
3,750m across.
'Larger cells are typically indicative of a less populated area, with less
people in the area, so in the centre of London it's going to be a small
circle,' said London Ambulance Service deputy director of technology Quentin
Armitage.
The mobile phone positioning technology that transmits details of a caller's
location was developed last year by a working group consisting of Vodafone,
O2, T-Mobile, Orange and 3, working with BT and Cable and Wireless.
'For about five years now, landline calls coming in via BT would have data
tagged on that allowed us to look up the address and phone number of the
caller by the time they were connected,' said Armitage. 'We always seek to
make use of any technology available that will enhance our service to the
public.'
Full story:
http://www.computing.co.uk/News/1152851
automatically pinpoint the location of a caller phoning 999 from a mobile
phone. About 750 mobile calls - about a quarter of all emergency calls -
are received by the service every day, with the caller often unsure about
their exact location.
Research has shown that improved location awareness cuts an average of 30
seconds off emergency calls.
With the new system, when a mobile 999 call is connected to the control
room, the operator can see an on-screen map of the part of London the person
is calling from, enabling them to allocate resources faster. The service is
able to receive data about the location of the mobile phone 'cell' that
transmits the call, which shows an ellipse on the operator's map indicating
the approximate location. The information details the coverage area of the
cell from which the mobile call was made, which can be between 500m and
3,750m across.
'Larger cells are typically indicative of a less populated area, with less
people in the area, so in the centre of London it's going to be a small
circle,' said London Ambulance Service deputy director of technology Quentin
Armitage.
The mobile phone positioning technology that transmits details of a caller's
location was developed last year by a working group consisting of Vodafone,
O2, T-Mobile, Orange and 3, working with BT and Cable and Wireless.
'For about five years now, landline calls coming in via BT would have data
tagged on that allowed us to look up the address and phone number of the
caller by the time they were connected,' said Armitage. 'We always seek to
make use of any technology available that will enhance our service to the
public.'
Full story:
http://www.computing.co.uk/News/1152851