On this day: In 1968, the first 911 call was made in United States by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite and answered by U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill.The number 911 came not from the government but from AT&T, the corporation that controlled nearly all phone lines in the U.S. At the time, AT&T was considered a “natural monopoly,” a monopoly allowed to exist because high infrastructure costs and barriers to entry prevented challengers from emerging. AT&T suggested the number 911 because it was easy to remember and, had not yet been designated as an area code or other code.
It was only in 1973 that the White House issued an official statement in favor of 911, and even that was a suggestion rather than a law or executive order. By 1987, 50 percent of the nation was using the system
In over 98% of locations in Argentina, Belize, Anguilla, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jordan, Ethiopia, Liberia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Uruguay, United States, Palau, Mexico, Tonga and Canada, dialing 911 from any telephone will link the caller to an emergency dispatch office called a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) by the telecommunications industry, which can send emergency responders to the caller’s location in an emergency. In approximately 96 percent of the United States, the enhanced 911 system automatically pairs caller numbers with a physical address. The first known use of a national emergency telephone number began in the United Kingdom in 1937–1938 using the number 999, which continues to this day.
#myhistorydiary #history #911
Created by Okey Obiabunmo
