FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ky (LEX 18) – On Monday, Apple announced a new technology in their next software update that will help make 911 calls more accurate and reliable.
One county in the Bluegrass is already adopting the technology.
Right now when you call 911 from a cell phone, the dispatcher doesn’t get your exact address, but rather the address of the nearest tower and sometime that could be miles away, wasting precious time.
"Historically, when people call 911 from a mobile phone we get very little information," said Deron Rambo with Franklin County 911.
Now, Apple is hoping to change that by utilizing a technology from a company called Rapid SOS and it just so happens that Franklin County is already ahead of the curve.
“It sounded great, you know, it’s a win-win for everyone, it’s no cost to the citizen or really the community and so we’re moving forward in that process and outfitting our equipment now," said Rambo.
Rapid SOS sends location data from an iPhone to a clearing house accessible only to emergency calling centers, allowing dispatchers to get a caller’s exact location, similar to Uber.
"It will improve their response it will get help to them quicker and hopefully we will gain life-saving minutes," he said.
In Franklin County, they should have the technology up and running within the next 45 days. Apple will release the advancement as part of iOS 12 slated for September.
According to Apple, only the 911 calling centers will be able to see the data during the call and none of it can be used for non-emergency purposes.
