TMCnet News

Change.org Petition to Implement 911 Texting Reaches 35,000 Signatures
[April 27, 2015]

Change.org Petition to Implement 911 Texting Reaches 35,000 Signatures


SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CallFire, Inc., the cloud-based text and voice platform that helps organizations engage their target audiences, today announced its Change.org petition to Congress to mandate that all emergency call centers implement technology to accept and respond to 911 texts, has reached 35,000 signatures. The fast growing petition reached the milestone in less than one month.

"There are many situations, from domestic altercations to home invasions, where making a phone call to 911 is not a viable option or may put the caller at increased risk," said Barbara Palmer, Chief Revenue Officer of CallFire. "Having the ability to alert and communicate with emergency services through text, one of the most widely used forms of communication today, is essential in these situations. Text is also a great option for individuals who have language barriers, speech, or hearing impairments. We hope that by leading the charge for change that local and national government will take notice, act quickly and implement text to 911 to save lives."  

According to the Pew Research Center, 1 percent of American adults have a cell phone and 81 percent of them use it to send or receive text messages. While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recognizes the critical role texting could play in saving lives and has required all wireless carriers to support 911 texting, less than five percent of emergency call centers nationwide can currently accept and respond to these 911 text messages. Local municipalities have been slow to adopt the technology, despite over 70 percent of 911 calls coming from cell phones, citing costs as a major barrier to entry. The FCC offers tips and resources for emergency call centers to implement the technology in ways that require little to no investment however, which is why CallFire is calling on Congress at this time to mandate that all local call centers be able to accept 911 texts.



To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/911texting.

About CallFire:
CallFire, Inc. is a Text and Voice platform that helps businesses engage customers, drive revenue and increase sales. The company makes telephone messaging simple. CallFire products include Business SMS Text Messaging, Voice Broadcast, Toll-Free Numbers, Local Phone Numbers, Call Tracking, IVR, Power Dialing for agents and more. Call analytics enable our 200,000 users to reach customers more often and more efficiently. To learn more about how to grow your business, visit http://www.CallFire.com.


 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/changeorg-petition-to-implement-911-texting-reaches-35000-signatures-300072175.html

SOURCE CallFire, Inc.


[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]