Texting 911 is available

A recent incident in New Boston has brought the ability to text 911 back to the forefront with a renewed interest in spreading the word about its availability.

The Ark-Tex Council of Governments introduced Text 911 in Bowie, Cass, Morris, Red River, and Titus Counties back in 2018.

From that time, mobile phone users in the area have had the ability to simply send a text when they are in an emergency situation and might not be able to make a call. The incident in New Boston involved a local official who found herself face to face with a dangerous individual and was unable to call for help. She realized afterwards that she could have sent a text.

When you text 911 it’s sent to the county’s dispatcher. For instance, in Texarkana it’s sent to Bowie County, a dispatcher will see your message on a screen and ask you what’s the emergency.

For some parents and grandparents this feature brings them peace.

On March 12, 2021, the FCC released a Public Notice about its Text-to-911 Registry, which is a public list of the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs or 911 call centers) that can handle 911 communications through text messages.

The FCC has expanded the Text-to-911 Registry, and it now includes PSAPs that can handle 911 communications through real-time text (RTT) technology.

The Text-to-9-1-1 service is available in Bowie, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Morris, Red River and Titus counties. Text to 9-1-1 is a service that allows citizens to send a text message directly to 9-1-1 for assistance in the event they are unable to make a voice call.

Simply send a text as you would normally. In the recipient field enter 911, compose the message and push send. Once your text is sent, the 9-1-1 system will send an automated message asking the individual texting for the address of the emergency. This starts the text session between 9-1-1 and the individual needing emergency help.

It is important to remember that text to 9-1-1 services should only be used in an emergency situation, when someone is unable to speak. Examples include if the person is deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech impaired, or when speaking out loud would put the individual in danger. Text-to-9-1-1 also provides a silent alternative in cases such as a child abduction, active shooter or domestic abuse.

When texting 9-1-1, you need to know your exact location and the nature of your emergency. Use simple language and no abbreviations or slang. Please do NOT TEXT and DRIVE! Pull over to a safe location before sending a text to 9-1-1. If you are able, please call 9-1-1. It takes longer to get all the information when communicating through text messages.

Currently, you can only Text-to-9-1-1 with the four major wireless carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon WirelessTM. If you are in an area where texting service is not available to 9-1-1, you will receive a ‘bounce-back’ message telling you to make a voice call.

If you would like more information about Text-to-9-1-1, please contact Rea Allen, 9-1-1 Program Director at 903255-3521 or email at rallen@atcog.org. You can also visit the COG’s website at www.atcog.org.

The updated Text-to-911 Registry is available at https:// www.fcc.gov/files/text-911-master-psap-registryxlsx. PSAPs are not required to use the Text-to-911 Registry; they may also request text-to-911 or RTT-to-911 service by providing written notification to the service provider.