Area 911 officials this week said they’re ready to move ahead with implementing a new text-to-911 system.
Terry O’Malley is Tulsa’s 911 director. She said until recently, it looked as though using the TTY system for hearing-impaired callers was the only choice.
"Which was not a good option, but now the costs are minimal, it appears," O'Malley said. "It will cost us about $10,000 per year to get in on it, so because it's minimal, we're going to do it."
There are three delivery methods for text to 911. One uses the existing TTY system for hearing-impaired callers but isn’t completely reliable. The system local officials are moving ahead with is Web-based. The third system is still under development.
Tulsa Regional Enhanced 911 Board members heard about the secure Web-based delivery system this week. All 911 centers represented on that board are moving forward with that system.
Muskogee City and County 911 Director Darryl Maggard said they committed to the new system a little earlier.
"We just see that it's the next evolution in technology that's available to contact us at 911, and we want to stay current with that technology," Maggard said.
Darita Huckabee with INCOG is on the enhanced 911 board. She said every jurisdiction should have it around June, but there’s one thing citizens should know.
"Call if you can, and text when you can't," Huckabee said. "Texting is an inferior technology to speak to your 911 communicator with. Sometimes, though, it's just the best you've got."
By moving forward together, the region's 911 centers hope to eliminate the possibility of a dropped emergency text from a person on the move.
