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I'm a Paramedic in Northern California and am VERY happy about this feature. Even in some of our SF Bay Area counties, we have a lot of windy mountain roads wit

I'm a Paramedic in Northern California and am VERY happy about this feature. Even in some of our SF Bay Area counties, we have a lot of windy mountain roads with no cell service at all. Our portable radios don't even work up in the hills. To have an iPhone be able to send GPS location to the public safety access point is fabulous. Our dispatchers can at least drop a pin on a map and we can route to that location ourselves. This already happens in a lot of cases but the caller has cell service. We've been on multiple incidents up in the hills where people have reported that they had to drive several miles down the mountain before they were able to get any reception to make a 911 call. This will save us a lot of time, and it will save lives. This is a game changing feature.

fragmede 4y ago
> Even in some of our SF Bay Area counties Even? no (and you'd probably know better than me) but as a fellow bay area person, there are tons and tons and tons of roads and places that aren't covered by cell service, just go into the mountains a little bit. and then you also have to ask which cell carrier everybody has. there's a real digital divide once you get out of the city and the towns that surround it
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  > and then you also have to ask which cell carrier everybody has Not for emergency services you don't.
  - fragmede 4y ago
    Ah you're right. I was still thinking back in the GSM vs CDMA days where AT&T phones physically couldn't talk to Verizon towers (and vice versa) so 911 couldn't work either.
- jrnichols 4y ago
  right, that's pretty much what I said. We have A LOT of space that has no cell reception at all. We don't have to ask about which carrier, though. That information will come through automatically along with the subscriber's information. Even a cell phone with no active plan can still dial 911, regardless of carrier or model.

fragmede 4y ago

> Even in some of our SF Bay Area counties Even? no (and you'd probably know better than me) but as a fellow bay area person, there are tons and tons and tons of roads and places that aren't covered by cell service, just go into the mountains a little bit. and then you also have to ask which cell carrier everybody has. there's a real digital divide once you get out of the city and the towns that surround it

whimsicalism 4y ago
> and then you also have to ask which cell carrier everybody has Not for emergency services you don't.
- fragmede 4y ago
  Ah you're right. I was still thinking back in the GSM vs CDMA days where AT&T phones physically couldn't talk to Verizon towers (and vice versa) so 911 couldn't work either.
jrnichols 4y ago
right, that's pretty much what I said. We have A LOT of space that has no cell reception at all. We don't have to ask about which carrier, though. That information will come through automatically along with the subscriber's information. Even a cell phone with no active plan can still dial 911, regardless of carrier or model.