Iowa's deploying cell-phone location-trackers for 911, and for whatever other purposes the cellphones support.
Des Moines, IA
<http://www.wqad.com/global/story.asp?s>http://www.WQAD.com/Global/story.asp?s=2150225
New technology will allow better response to 911 cell callers
08/09/04 10:35 AM
DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) -- Cell phone users in Iowa are getting a 911 upgrade.
The state is among the first in the nation to use the new technology that will help dispatchers pinpoint the emergency caller.
Iowa 911 Program Manager John Benson says it's already being tested in Des Moines, and the end of the year, about half of the state's 125 dispatch centers will have the upgrade.
About half of Iowa's 911 calls are placed by cell phones. That's about 50,000 a month.
Current technology allows dispatchers to locate a cell phone 911 caller by the nearest cell tower, often miles away. The new global-positioning technology provides the latitude and longitude of the caller, which can be electronically displayed on a map.
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(looks like Fair Use to me...)
