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“911, what’s your emergency?”
Hopefully, you’ve never heard those words, but if you do, cross your fingers that it’s not on a prepaid cellular phone.
For 911 communications districts throughout the Tri-parish area, prepaid phones are becoming a nuisance. And, because of the revenue that wireless providers see from these types of phones, the problems are bound to continue.
Until this year, customers of prepaid services were not required to pay usage fees for 911 services, while those of traditional landlines and postpaid phones were.
Communications districts across the nation are seeing sharp increases in the amount of wireless calls they receive each year. Louisiana also fits the description and without a tax or service charge, 911 operations are losing much-needed money.
However, the real problem lies within the districts inability to efficiently track calls coming from prepaid phones. Because most prepaid phones don’t require personal information to be activated, 911 services have no way of tracking down who is making the call – unless the address is clearly stated during the call.
For callers making a last ditch effort to prevent a calamity, speak clearly, because in most cases it’s now or never.
“If you’re calling on a prepaid cellular phone, we’re not going to be able to call you back. Because you may or may not have a phone number,” said Mark Boudreaux, 911 communications director for Terrebonne Parish.
“We have to hear a person tell us where they are. Most of those phones are the old phones, they don’t have GPS chips in them,” he added.
With prepaid phones, “…we can usually get the location of a cell tower, but that [towers range] might include the entire City of Houma. It really doesn’t tell us where the person is.”
The same GPS system used in navigational devices like TomToms and Garmins are now being used in cell phones. But if your phone is outdated, the method of tracking relies heavily on triangulation – a way in which signals are bounced off of surrounding towers in efforts to pinpoint a location.
However, newer technology has also increased the time it takes to transfer digital signals between cell phones and 911 operating systems. What used to take two seconds, can now take 20.
“That’s a problem with the cell phone companies, not us,” added Boudreaux.
On the flipside, calls from landlines and postpaid cellular phones are accompanied by the person’s name, billing address and phone number; what could prove to be vital information in the event the caller is disconnected.
Boudreaux also said that “ghost” calls are a common phenomenon with prepaid phones that have long been void of minutes but still have the ability to dial 911.
“A lot of times people will give their kids the phone to play with, or things like that. They don’t realize it can still dial out,” he added.
In those instances, operators have no indication as to whether or not the call is an emergency.
By law, operators must stay on the line one minute, or until they declare the call a non-emergency. During that time, operators said that real emergency calls could possibly be put on hold.
Carrying a bag of faults, prepaid phones are continuing to rise in popularity, especially among parents who hope to limit their children’s cell phone use and customers who can’t get a phone any other way.
Unfortunately, the rise in demand for prepaid phones has put unwanted pressure on local emergency communications systems.
Pay up, prepaid
Following the strain, the state legislature passed a two percent service charge on the retail purchase of prepaid wireless telecommunications service. The law became effective Jan. 1.
Unlike 911 service charges on landlines and postpaid cell phones, service charges on prepaid cell phones will be forwarded to the LDR. The money will then be re-dispersed to each communication district based on population – more people means more money.
While the increased revenue will not aid the tracking of prepaid calls, it could help upgrade emergency communication systems to “Third Generation,” which will allow 911 operators to receive text messages and live video from postpaid cell phones.
Communication headquarters in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes will be upgrading to Third Generation software sometime soom. The first step, however, is to receive proposals for the customized software.
“We won’t know how much it’s going to cost until we get the proposals back,” said Boudreaux.
Official documents said that the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) “…may retain up to $800,000 of the remitted service fees,” between 2009 and 2010.
The money would be used to cover costs incurred by the department and businesses in their efforts to collect service charges – including upgrades to software and additional employees.
Following that amount, the LDR will then be allowed to retain up to 2 percent of service charges in the future “…for reimbursement of direct administrative costs.”
With sweeping changes soon to come, officials said they are still unsure how much money they will see from service charges. In fact, many communication districts may not see money until 2011.
Lora Armstrong, a 911 operator for the Terrebonne Parish communications district, is pulling another 12-hour shift. Armstrong’s job is no easy one, and problems with prepaid cell phones aren’t making it easier. * Photo by MICHAEL DAVIS
