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Enhanced 911 (e911)

E911 description, service locations and tips on VoIP Android apps

Enhanced 911 (E911) is a service that allows emergency operators to provide better assistance to people calling 911 from their mobile phones. It provides emergency operators with more specific information about your location and displays your mobile phone number to emergency operators.

When you call 911 from your mobile phone:

  • Provide your complete mobile phone number, including the area code, so that information can be passed on to emergency operators

  • Give your location and the location of the emergency

  • Stay on the line with the operator (911 calls are not billed)

  • If disconnected, leave your phone on for call-backs

  • If you’re underground or too far from a network antenna, your signal quality may be affected and you may not be able to connect to the network

To avoid making accidental emergency calls,
don't program 911 into your phone
.

E911 service locations

TELUS E911 service is currently accessible in most of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI, Saskatchewan, the Greater Winnipeg area of Manitoba and the Greater Halifax area of Nova Scotia.

E911 is not yet available in Newfoundland due to limitations with landline network capabilities.

If E911 is not yet available in your area, you will be able to access it when you roam into E911 coverage areas.

E911 Phase 1

Displays your mobile phone number to emergency operators as well as the location of the cellular site carrying your call.

All phones and smartphones support E911 Phase 1.

E911 Phase 2

Provides improved location information to emergency operators. While Phase 1 is able to give the tower location, Phase 2 can also provide the longitude and latitude of the caller.

E911 calls from mobile phones are subject to the same limitations as regular calls from mobile phones. For example, if you’re underground or too far from a network antenna, your signal quality may be affected and you may not be able to connect to the network.

All phones and smartphones introduced as of February 1, 2010 support E911 Phase 2.

Starting April 6, 2019, all GPS-enabled devices globally will go through a clock rollover event. These devices include phones and smartphones. A small percentage of these phones will be negatively impacted by this rollover event.

TELUS customers using select phones and smartphones, may have impacts to their location accuracy, if that location is provided via GPS. E911 is an example of a service that uses the location details, and this location detail comes from various sources, of which GPS is one. In the event that GPS does not work, the phone can fall back to other sources of location, namely cell tower location, which will yield a location, but with slightly lower accuracy.

TELUS has worked with manufacturers to roll out fixes to affected devices. If your device is listed below, please update it to the latest software.

  • Alcatel A50 (5085O)

  • Alcatel 1 (5033O)

  • Alcatel Lume (A466T)

  • Alcatel Pixi 3(4) (A460T)

  • Alcatel Pixi 3(4.5) (5017O)

Some devices, however, will not receive software patches due to their age. If your device is listed below, it is recommended that you are aware of this issue and exercise caution if you find yourself in a 911 situation. Alternatively, you can visit your nearest TELUS store to purchase a new device.

  • Alcatel A392A / A392CC

  • Alcatel Idol X+ (6043A)

  • RIM BlackBerry Curve (9320)

  • RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G (9300)

  • RIM BlackBerry Torch (9800)

  • RIM BlackBerry Bold (9700)

  • RIM BlackBerry Curve (9360)

  • RIM BlackBerry Bold (9780)

  • RIM BlackBerry Bold (9790)

  • HUAWEI Ascend Y330

  • HTC Desire 320a (0PF1100)

  • Motorola Charm (MB502)

  • Motorola Defy (MB525)

  • Motorola Key (EX225)

  • Motorola Milestone (A853)

  • Nokia 3710

  • Nokia E71

  • Nokia E72

  • Sonim XP5560

  • Sonim XP5560IS

E911 and VoIP Apps for Android Devices

There is a potential issue affecting 911 calling from certain
Android
devices with downloaded VoIP applications such as
Viber
or
Skype
. You may be unable to complete calls to 911 if you have downloaded one of these apps and have made it the default call dialer on your device.

When you attempt to dial 911, the app dialer cannot process the call, because for 911 calls the VoIP application will revert back to the phone dialer to connect the call. However, if you have adjusted your settings to "Always use the app dialer", the phone dialer will send the call back to the VoIP app. A loop results, and the 911 call cannot be connected.

The settings within the application must be changed and ‘Just Once’ should be the default dialer setting.

Please do not dial 9-1-1 to test your device.

How to change your dialer settings

From your Android device:

  1. Tap
    Settings

  2. Tap
    Application Manager

  3. Tap on the
    Menu
    button on the device

  4. Tap
    Reset app preferences

  5. Tap
    Reset apps

Note:
When using a VoIP app such as Skype or Viber, always press “Just Once” when prompted for use as the default dialer. This will ensure you are able to successfully place a 9-1-1 call if required.

We are committed protecting our customers and notifying them of any issues that impact emergency 911 calling from their TELUS devices. Google has indicated that this is a global problem and they are working with these app developers to fix this issue.

Municipal 9-1-1 taxes

There is a tax, Call Answer Levy, collected in select provinces for the benefit of local 9-1-1 emergency operations centres. The amount of tax is regulated in each province and the funds collected are used to facilitate local 9-1-1 services. Customers in Saskatchewan, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador will be affected. Refer to the table below for specific fee amounts, varying by province:

Province

Monthly fee for wireless municipal taxes

Monthly fee for wireline municipal taxes*

Québec

$0.54

N/A

Alberta

$0.95

$0.44

British Columbia:

N/A

N/A

• Fraser Valley Regional District

N/A

$0.72

• Northern portion of Squamish-Lillooet & District of Lillooet

N/A

$0.75

• Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine

N/A

N/A

• City of Nelson / Village of New Denver / City of Castlegar

N/A

N/A

• Regional District of Central Kootenay

N/A

N/A

• City of Kamloops

N/A

N/A

• Capital Regional District (Victoria & Vicinity)

N/A

0.66$

• City of Nanaimo / Regional District of Nanaimo / Cowichan Valley Regional District

N/A

$0.47

• North Island 911 Corporation for Powell River Regional District

N/A

$0.69

Saskatchewan

$2.14

$0.94

New Brunswick

$0.97

$0.53

Nova Scotia

$0.43

$0.43

Newfoundland and Labrador

$0.75

N/A

Prince Edward Island

$0.70

$0.70

Northwest Territories

$3.00

N/A

*
for participating Municipalities

Next Generation 911 (NG911)

Canadians depend on the provision of reliable and effective 9-1-1 services to seek help in an emergency. As technology and consumers’ needs evolve, so do consumers’ expectations related to 9-1-1 services. In the coming years, telecommunications networks across Canada, including the networks used to make 9-1-1 calls, will continue to transition to Internet Protocol (IP) technology. This will enable Canadians to access new, enhanced, and innovative 9-1-1 services with IP-based capabilities, referred to as next-generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) services. For example, Canadians could stream video from an emergency incident, send photos of accident damage or a fleeing suspect, or send personal medical information, including accessibility needs, which could greatly emergency responders.

New functions include the following:

  • Unified NG9-1-1 PSAP interoperability and selective transfer across the country through inter-ESInet connectivity;

  • Real-time text to 9-1-1 (RTT9-1-1);

  • Telematics such as vehicle-initiated advanced automatic crash notifications;

  • Real-time video calling;

  • Transmission of additional forms of data such as pictures, videos, medical records, and floor plans; and

  • Other methods of IP-based communications.

NG911 CRTC Decision

Important Dates

CRTC Mandated dates that TELUS must adhere to: § NG9-1-1 network to be available for all PSAPs by March 1, 2022 § RTT (Real Time Text) to be enabled on network by TBD § Legacy 9-1-1 Network to be decommissioned by March 4, 2025

Standards

NG9-1-1 is based on Nena i3 standards (
https://www.nena.org/page/i3_Stage3
)

PSAP Considerations

PSAPs will be required to make changes within their organization in order to connect to NG9-1-1 Network. Existing phone systems will have to be replaced with Nena i3 compliant Call Handling Systems. § Call Handling Systems will have the ability to receive SIP traffic and RTT. § Call Handling Systems will also have to take into account the future potential of Additional Data (multimedia, video, etc.)

NG911 FAQ

What are NG9-1-1 services?

NG911 allows the public to send digital data to 911 call centers, or public safety answering points (PSAPs), and lets the PSAPs receive data from other transmitting devices such as wearable medical devices, car computers and building alarms.

What does NG9-1-1 stand for?

Because most 911 systems were originally built using analog rather than digital technologies, public safety answering points (PSAPs) across the country need to be upgraded to a digital or Internet Protocol (IP)-based 911 system, commonly referred to as Next Generation 911 (NG911).

What does PSAP stand for?

public-safety answering point A public-safety answering point (PSAP), sometimes called "public-safety access point" is a call center where emergency calls (like police, fire brigade, ambulance) initiated by any mobile or landline subscriber are terminated.

What is ESInet?

An ESInet is a managed IP network that is used for emergency services communications, and which can be shared by all. Public Safety agencies. It provides the IP transport infrastructure upon which independent application platforms and core.

NG911 Fees

Starting March 1, 2022, an additional fee of $0.14 will be levied on top of the existing E9-1-1 fees on each wireline voice service in BC and AB to help build the Next Generation 9-1-1 network.

Region

NG 9-1-1¹

E 9-1-1²

NG9-1-1 and E9-1-1

BC/AB - TELUS

$0.14

$0.07

$0.21

Manitoba – MTS/BELL

$0.10

$0.14

$0.24

NB/NS - BELL

$0.10

$0.19

$0.29

NFLD and Labrador - BELL

N/A

$0.17

$0.17

Ontario -BELL

$0.10

$0.10

$0.20

PEI - BELL

$0.10

$0.30

$0.40

Quebec - Telus serving regions

$0.14

$0.10

$0.24

Quebec - Outside of TELUS Serving regions

$0.10

$0.10

$0.20

Saskatchewan - SaskTel

$0.22

$0.21

$0.20

Yukon

N/A

$0.32

$0.32

¹CRTC Interim approvals effective March 1, 2022

²CRTC approvals effective January 1, 2022

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