The US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is considering updating the 911 emergency call system to accept photo, text and video messages.Roughly 70% of 911 calls are already being made from mobile telephones, said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.But the 911 system does not currently "support the communication tools of tomorrow", he added.
The FCC said the Virginia Tech massacre was an incident when 911 multimedia technology could have been employed.Thirty-two people were left dead after a student opened fire on the Virginia Tech university campus in 2007."Some students and witnesses tried to text 911 during that emergency and as we know, those messages never went through and were never received by local 911 dispatchers," Mr Genachowski said.
The FCC said the Virginia Tech massacre was an incident when 911 multimedia technology could have been employed.Thirty-two people were left dead after a student opened fire on the Virginia Tech university campus in 2007."Some students and witnesses tried to text 911 during that emergency and as we know, those messages never went through and were never received by local 911 dispatchers," Mr Genachowski said.
