There's plenty to be said about cellular telephone service and 9-1-1. After all, you dial 9-1-1 to get assistance when in need, be it a fire, medical condition or law enforcement issue. But when you are calling from a telephone that could be located on opposite sides of a city in a matter of minutes, things get complicated.

Most cellular phone providers now provide location service from the phone in terms of a latitude and longitude coordinate. When a 9-1-1 call is placed from one of these phones, its location is displayed at our center with these coordinates as opposed to the normal address. From these coordinates we can provide a nearby address to responders so they can find the caller.

Unfortunately, not all providers have developed their systems fully but they are working on it. Too, with the growing number of "pay per call" or pre-paid cell phone accounts out there, the problem of locating these is still an obstacle to overcome.

For a lot more information about wireless communications and 9-1-1, visit this site: http://www.al911.org/wireless_home.htm