Apple aims to solve problems locating 911 calls for help

A dispatcher works at a desk station with a variety of screens used by those who take 911 emergency calls in Roswell, Georgia (Lisa Marie Pane/AP)

A supervisor shows one of the maps used by dispatchers at a 911 call center in Roswell, Georgia. (Lisa Marie Pane/AP)

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is trying to drag the US’s antiquated system for handling 911 calls into the 21st century.
If it lives up to Apple’s promise, the next iPhone operating system coming out in September will automatically deliver quicker and more reliable information pinpointing the location of 911 calls to about 6,300 emergency response centers in the US
Apple is trying to solve a problem caused by the technological mismatch between a system built for landlines 50 years ago and today’s increasingly sophisticated smartphones that make most emergency calls in the US
The analog system often struggles to decipher the precise location of calls coming from digital devices, resulting in emergency responders sometimes being sent a mile or more from people pleading for help.