Updated at 6:56 p.m., Saturday, May 5, 2007
911 cell-phone callers can be located on Big Island
Advertiser Staff
Hawaii County has implemented its new Wireless Enhanced 911 (WE911) System, enabling both the police and fire departments to use cellular phone transmissions to locate people who need help.WE911, as it is commonly known, provides fire and police dispatchers with a general location of a cell phone user making a WE911 call.
In order to provide a location, the cell phone must have the capability of providing global positioning system (GPS) information or a vendor-provided network-based system (triangulation method - receiving signals from three wireless towers) to locate the caller.
Although this system is a new emergency tool for first responders, the public is encouraged to provide police and fire dispatchers with as much information as possible to help pinpoint the caller's location.
The new system is fully funded by the State WE911 Board, created by state statute in 2004 under the Department of Accounting and General Services.
Customers of all cell phone companies operating on the Big Island, as well as cellular phone customers within the state, pay a monthly surcharge of 66 cents per phone to the State WE911 Board, to fund the statewide WE911 system.
