The History of 9-1-1 The three-digit telephone number "9-1-1" has been designated as the "Universal Emergency Number," for citizens throughout the United States to request emergency assistance. It is intended as a nationwide telephone number and gives the public fast and easy access to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).
9-1-1 Fast Facts An estimated 200 million calls are made to 9-1-1 in the U.S. each year. According to the FCC, one-third are wireless calls; in many communities, it’s one-half or more of all 9-1-1 calls.
9-1-1 and Your Wireless Phone When 9-1-1 calls are made from wireless phones, the call may not be routed to the closest 9-1-1 center, and the call taker doesn't receive the callback phone number or the location of the caller. This presents life threatening problems due to lost response time, if callers are unable to speak or don't know where they are, or if they don't know their wireless phone callback number and the call is dropped.
9-1-1 & VoIP With VoIP Basic Emergency Calling, the call is not routed to your local 9-1-1 center on emergency lines. Instead, it is sent to a remote private call center or a non-emergency line without location information and possibly without your callback number. This type of call processing can delay an emergency response.
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