Return to sender: Why 911 and texting don’t mix

There’s been a lot of talk lately about states “raiding” their 911 funds to shore up ailing budgets or pay for other programs, all at the expense of upgrading 911 systems to accept next-gen communications such as text messaging. The matter came to a head this summer when the public safety answering point (PSAP) in Black Hawk County, Iowa, became the first in the nation to field text messages. Why, observers then wondered, isn’t every emergency call center up to snuff? Then, rather than examining the facets of such an overhaul, they blamed states and their allocation decisions.

It’s true: Without the dollars, improvements won’t happen. However, experts say there’s more to e911 initiatives than money, and those details have been overlooked...