911 Cell Calls

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm posting a link to a post in another forum devoted to tips on using a cell phone to call 911.

For instance, even if you show NO bars, you should dial 911 anyway and let it ring for at least a minute.  Say you have a Sprint phone and there are no nearby Sprint towers.  You will therefor show no bars.  But after 17 seconds of trying to find it's own tower, it will then try to find ANY tower, and the government requires ALL towers to forward 911 calls.  So your call might go through via a nearby AT&T or Verizon tower even if you've got no bars.

Much more interesting info at:

http://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/911-cell-calls.4517/

 

[blars]

911 calls work on phones with no plans, reported stolen, etc. Due to different standards, not all phones can use all towers. The more modern the design the more likely it can use any tower.