CHP introduces cellular-friendly 911 system

Operators will now be able to capture the telephone number and location of the caller within a half-block area

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17 - The California Highway Patrol this week demonstrated a new countywide 911 system designed to provide operators with the telephone numbers and location of callers using mobile telephones.

Los Angeles County is the first in the state to use the new technology, said CHP Sgt. Ernie Sanchez.

    All local 911 calls for the CHP, whether via mobile phones or “land lines,” are routed to the CHP Communications Center just west of downtown, but mobile phone calls could not be traced until recently, Sanchez said.

    “It doesn’t matter if you live in Pasadena or Arcadia or West Covina; if you call on a cell phone, that call will go through the CHP Communications Center” and operators will be able to capture the telephone number and location of the caller within a half-block area, Sanchez said.

    The enhanced technology has been in use for the past three weeks, he said.

    All major mobile phone companies are participating in the test and demonstration of the system, Sanchez said, adding that the technology should be in place nationwide by 2001 under Federal Communications Commission rules.

[Audio] Wendall McCullough of the Gen. Services department explains the new system.