If you called 911 from your cell phone, your location data isn’t exactly on-point for 911 operators. This is because the location is typically sent to call taker by a wireless carrier. It appears as though Google may have found a better way of handling such situations and has tested its system across a few states in December and January, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
In the states where Google tested its system, the company sent location data from a random selection of 911 callers using Android phones straight to the people taking those calls. The test conducted included nearly 51,000 call centers that cover around 2.4 million people in Texas, Tennessee and Florida. Early reports from the testing of Google’s system suggest that it’s very promising.
One company that was involved in the test told the Wall Street Journal that for over 80 percent of the 911 calls where Google’s System was used, the location data was much more accurate than what the wireless carriers provided to the operators. The same company, RapidSOS, said that while the carrier data location estimate were on average a radios of around 522 feet, Google’s data gave estimates with radii of around 121 feet, which is far better and more accurate. In addition to being more accurate, Google’s data arrived a lot more quickly than the data provided by carriers.
