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65 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 21, 2004 Cellular phone mapping system helps dispatchers find 9-1-1 callers By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Help will soon be one step closer for local cell phone customers calling in an emergency. A computerized mapping system that pinpoints 9-1-1 calls will be up and running in Jackson County within the next few weeks, officials said. Local dispatchers report that about 32 percent of calls come from cell phones, which now cannot be traced unless callers can communicate their location, said Millie Tirapelle, director of Southern Oregon Regional Communications. "We get calls from people who are unfamiliar with where they are, and they are not able to explain to us how to get to them," Tirapelle said. Cell phone calls typically take twice as long to dispatch as calls from standard wire-line phones, which automatically come to a dispatch center connected to a street address, Tirapelle said. The new mapping technology also will display a physical location for wire-line calls. Under the new system, dispatchers will see a dot on a computer-generated map and corresponding coordinates within less than a second of the initial call, Tirapelle said. The nearest cell tower relays the precise location to a database that sends it to the telephone company and then on to a dispatch center, she added. Cell phones must have a feature that works with the technology. Advertisement Pairing a coordinate with a call is invaluable to public safety workers, officials said, citing lengthy search missions for hikers and others exploring the county’s remote areas. If calling from a cell phone that could be traced with the new technology, missing people could be located and rescued in about an hour, officials said. The county’s two 9-1-1 centers have installed necessary components and are waiting for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management to furnish accompanying software, which is expected to take several weeks, said OEM spokeswoman Shannon Nesemann. Jackson will be among the first counties to use the system, set for statewide implementation. Mapping technology to locate wireless callers is scheduled to be in place nationwide by January, OEM officials said. Oregon’s project was ahead of schedule but put on hold for about a year during the state’s budget difficulties of 2003. The state set aside about $16 million for the technology, but approximately $10 million was diverted to stem a budget shortfall. Wireless and standard phone users now pay 75 cents per month for the system. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities