A mobile phone can't use satellite communication so it can't be tracked using satellites, emergency services track it using triangulation from cell towers. Theoretically if you had GPS enabled the phone could send it's location to the cell phone towers, but satellites wouldn't be tracking it because GPS is a totally passive system.
Dial 999
- Thread starter antijoke
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A mobile phone can't use satellite communication so it can't be tracked using satellites, emergency services track it using triangulation from cell towers. Theoretically if you had GPS enabled the phone could send it's location to the cell phone towers, but satellites wouldn't be tracking it because GPS is a totally passive system.
Soldato
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I can say catagorically that it's not the case. I work in an Emergency Services control room, trust me it would make my job about 50x easier if we could track you via Satellite.
Most landlines will have CLI information attatched to it (Caller Line ID) and will be presented on the CAD system when the call is connected to the emergency services (Theres only certain companies that can't do this and we have to contact them directly for information if the line drops out) This is great as if you ring from a Pay Phone we normally know instantly where you are. It's still down to the caller to confirm this information though.
Mobile phones however are a much different story.
As you know mobile phones are connected to masts, these masts can be used to triangulate where you are sometimes within a few hundred meters but it's not failsafe.
aa....and no where near as accurate as the Super Emergency Services Satellite we have in orbit
Does your cad system get the number or do you have Eisec ?
Deleted member 651465
Deleted member 651465
101
Took this near a beach in Wales.
EDIT: Found it on StreetView: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...=i0Tqq6JlgPP4OcnML87dDQ&cbp=12,138.83,,2,11.5
So you can choose the service, get these on military bases everywhere.
Man of Honour
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I'll throw this nugget in :
At First Aid training at the hospital we are taught that 999 can be picked up anywhere in the country but 112 ends up going to your nearest emergency call centre.
West would be the best person to ask on this.
At First Aid training at the hospital we are taught that 999 can be picked up anywhere in the country but 112 ends up going to your nearest emergency call centre.
West would be the best person to ask on this.
Soldato
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999 goes to an operator who then puts you through to the correct emergency call centre, with mobiles the location can be a bit off so you can end up going to the wrong centre.
AFAIK 112 follows the same process, all 999/112 calls go to an operator first who asks 'what service do you require'
Man of Honour
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Basically I was told -
You could ring 999 from Norwich but be talking to an operator in Edinburgh but ringing 112 from Norwich should get you an operator in Norwich -allegedly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-1-2
Countries which use the 112 number for emergencies include: United Kingdom (alongside 999)
Countries which use the 112 number for emergencies include: United Kingdom (alongside 999)
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
What?! Surely you dont beleive this is true? GPS phones have not even been around 5 years yet really, let alone in enough form for ALL phones to be GPS phones for the last 5 years!
[TW]Fox;16460757 said:
Yeh, was thinking the same. Its probably the rule all phones must have the ability remotely turn on in order to use standard triangulation techniques (which can be very accurate). Same rule exists in most countries I think, and so pretty much all phones have it.
Hence remove the battery if you don't want to be tracked.
Last edited:
So you get through to international rescue??? AKA Thunderbirds?? COOL!!!
Dunno, try it...
We use Eisec.
[TW]Fox;16460757 said:
IIRC the FCC stated that all phones had to be able to be tracked in an emergency to within 50 metres or something similar when the call is made.
Having just done a quick search it looks like early.current ones use a similar method to GPS, but generally based on timing the signals from the cell towers rahter than satellites, and is more accurate than the more basic method of measuring signal strength from various towers.
Some have moved over to embedded GPS as well/Instead
My bad, I was getting confused between the two as they use similar methods (timing rather than strength).
They don't remotely turn the phone on, the tracking is done when the call is made as part of the call handling by the phone/towers.
Not sure on 112, but the post below yours is right, you dial 999 then you get your Emergency Operator who asks 'What Service?'
Depending on what you say the op starts connecting you to the correct centre, so say you dialed 999 asked for Ambulance and you're in Dudley on a Mobile phone, you'd get the Emergency Ops Centre for WMAS in Brierley Hill. (We have 3, Brierley Hill coveres the West Midlands, Hereford, Worcester and Shropshire, one in Leamington Spa which covers Coventry and Warwickshire and a 3rd in Stafford that covers north and south Staffs.)
Somtimes if you're on the border, lets take Wombourne in Staffordshire for instance it can sometimes put you through to Stafford instead of Brierley Hill (Wombourne is part of Wolverhampton so still part of the Black Country area). It all depends on how close or far away the masts Triangulate your position and the ammount of masts in the area.
No, it was because of where the 9 was on the dial. The last number before the stop was the 0, but 000 wouldn't work, so 9 was chosen as it was next closest. Those of us old enough to remember rotary phones will remember TV adverts showing how even when blinded by smoke and darkness you could feel the stop, then the hole next to it,and then the one next to that which was the nine.
As for 112, I understand that it picked up differently to 999 in the UK. The most important difference is that (I believe) if you dial 999 on a mobile it goes through your service provider, but 112 will pick up the nearest service provider out of all of them and use that. Useful in areas where signal can be bad.
M
Yes.
Police Control for my area is taken through 2 Seperate control rooms in Birmingham and Fire also in Birmingham (Soon to be Wolverhampton iirc.)
This is a common mis-conception for people as a lot of people do think that all 999 calls are handled in 1 big centre when infact there are lots dotted around the UK.
Depending on the situation also, take an RTC for example we automatically inform the Police as part of our proceedure, same goes for Assaults and for calls about Fire we would contact Fire, we all work quite close together
Soldato
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Yes.
Police Control for my area is taken through 2 Seperate control rooms in Birmingham and Fire also in Birmingham (Soon to be Wolverhampton iirc.)
This is a common mis-conception for people as a lot of people do think that all 999 calls are handled in 1 big centre when infact there are lots dotted around the UK.
Depending on the situation also, take an RTC for example we automatically inform the Police as part of our proceedure, same goes for Assaults and for calls about Fire we would contact Fire, we all work quite close together
Works the same here, Police, Fire & Ambo are all run seperatly. Any RTC & Amb will call Police and Fire, Fire turn up even when not needed as its Ambo policy to call them and once Fire turnout they dont ever stand down.
BT and Cable & Wireless run the 999 service so when you dial 999 you goto one of their contact centres (BT Bangor, Blackburn, Glasgow are main ones i recall) the call is directed to the relevant service - often the operator will remain on the line and can then put the caller thru to Police having already spoken with Ambo.
I am pretty sure 112 works in the same way, it would have to go to an operator to get the correct service - on either number if nothing is heard from the caller it will always go to Police first. All emergency services have direct lines to the other services so can pass details if wrong service was asked for etc.
When I had to ring 999 at Christmas time, the first responder who came said that if you are calling on a mobile phone then to use 112 because it gets you put through to the nearest call centre, however it makes no difference on a landline, just a mobile.
I also took some kids on a "lifeskills" day recently, where they were told to do the same thing.
I guess it might mean any unusual spelling of places might be more easily understood because that person would be local (ish)
I also took some kids on a "lifeskills" day recently, where they were told to do the same thing.
I guess it might mean any unusual spelling of places might be more easily understood because that person would be local (ish)