Making an emergency call on a cell phone in Roseville just got easier, faster and more direct.
The change ends a longstanding problem in which some people calling 911 on their wireless phones in Roseville would be connected to the California Highway Patrol, instead of to the city's police and fire communications center.
On Tuesday, the communications center and local wireless companies completed a nearly two-year project to have direct connections on all wireless and landline calls, the Roseville Police Department announced in a news release.
"Seconds count in an emergency," Teresa Murray, the department's support commander, said in the news statement. "Cellular callers no longer have to take the extra step of talking to a CHP dispatcher and waiting to be transferred. Callers are directly connected to us the first time, and we can get emergency units rolling faster."
Drivers dialing 911 from Interstate 80 while passing through Roseville will still have calls answered directly by the CHP, said Dee Dee Gunther, the Police Department's spokeswoman. The cell towers have three "sectors," each pointing in different directions, which allows those sectors facing the freeeway to continue routing emergency calls to the CHP.
Gunther said the new system also eliminates the need for cell phone users to program a seven-digit emergency number into their cell phones to reach Roseville's communications center.
The center installed a new 911 cell handling system in the fall of 2006, she said. The system is capable of receiving identification and geographic location information from wireless phones.
In January 2007, the first of seven wireless company providers was switched over to the direct connection, she said. The six other companies were switched over in the next 18 months, she said. The final one received direction connection Tuesday, she said.
Gunther said Roseville received funding assistance for the upgrade from the state of California's 911 fund, which is maintained by a statewide surcharge on telephone bills.
Call The Bee's Art Campos, (916) 773-2825.
