Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, and their associated 911 call centers, now accept emergency SMS text messages, but the new functionality is currently available only in limited areas in 16 states. Today the FCC announced a new initiative, called Text-to-911, that enables many U.S. wireless subscribers to send SMS text messages to 911 in emergency situations instead of having to place a phone call. The goal is for all U.S. carriers and 911 call centers to eventually accept emergency texts. As of today, the four major U.S. wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile) support the new functionality in “all areas served by their networks where a 911 call center is prepared to receive texts.” But the FCC cautions that this does not mean all of the carriers’ customers are covered, and for now, “you should not rely on text to reach 911.” To protect consumers, the FCC already requires carriers who don’t support 911 texts in certain areas or at all to send automatic bounce-back messages to let senders know that 911 did not receive their messages. The FCC is encouraging all 911 call centers to accept 911 texts as soon as possible, but it is not mandated, and for now, it’s ultimately up to each call center to decide if or when it will start supporting 911 texts. Today, 911 texts are accepted in limited areas in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. You can visit the FCC’s website for specifics on current locations. And the agency’s FAQ page also offers more details on the initiative. AS Related content brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems, Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing feature 10 business intelligence certifications and certificates to advance your BI career From BI analysts and BI developers to BI architects and BI directors, business intelligence pros are in high demand. Here are the certifications and certificates that can give your career an edge. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 01, 2023 8 mins Certifications Business Intelligence IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe