CRTC announces enhancements to 911 services for Canadians with hearing or
speech impairments
Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) announced enhancements to 911 services that will enable Canadians
who have hearing or speech impairments to communicate with 911 call
centres via text message. Telephone and wireless companies must upgrade
their networks to support this new feature by January 24, 2014.
The CRTC’s decision follows a 2012 trial to assess the feasibility of
rolling out such a feature on a national basis. The trial involved the
participation of telecommunications companies, Canadians with hearing or
speech impairments and 911 call centres in Vancouver, Toronto, Peel Region
and Montreal.
“Services such as 911 are critical to the health and safety of all
Canadians,” said Jean-Pierre Blais, Chairman of the CRTC. “This initiative
is a perfect example of how technology can be used to improve access to
911 services for Canadians with disabilities. I would like to thank those
who participated in last year’s trial. Its success convinced us that
expanding the initiative across the country is not only possible, but also
in the public interest.”
As the service becomes available in different municipalities, Canadians
with hearing or speech impairments must register their mobile phone number
with their wireless service provider, and ensure that they have a
compatible mobile phone. In the event of an emergency, they must first
dial 911, and the emergency call centre will automatically receive
notification to initiate a conversation by text message.
This feature will only be available in those areas where municipal and
provincial governments have made the necessary changes to their 911 call
centres.
For people who are not deaf, hard of hearing or do not have speech
impairments, a telephone voice call is still the only way to receive
assistance during an emergency situation. Furthermore, the CRTC reminds
Canadians that text messages sent to “911” do not reach emergency
services.
The CRTC will examine the future of Canadian 911 services in 2014-2015.
To prepare for this review, it has appointed National Commissioner Timothy
Denton to conduct research on current 911 services and the issues related
to the provision of such services on next-generation telecommunications
networks. His recommendations will be taken into consideration when the
CRTC begins its review.
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-22
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2013/2013-22.htm
Reference documents:
News release, “CRTC initiates text messaging trial to improve the
accessibility of 911 call centres,” February 16, 2012
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2012/r120216.htm
Telecom Decision CRTC 2012-101
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-101.htm
News release, “CRTC to examine future of 911 services in Canada,”
December 17, 2012
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2012/r121217.htm
Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2012-686
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-686.htm
