112 (emergency telephone number)

This article is about the emergency telephone number. For other uses, see 112 (disambiguation).
112 (emergency telephone number)

112 is the common emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from most mobile telephones and, in some countries, fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services (ambulance, fire and rescue, police).

112 is a part of the GSM standard and all GSM-compatible telephone handsets are able to dial 112 even when locked or with no SIM card present. It is also the common emergency number in all member states of the European Union as well as several other countries of Europe and the world. 112 is often available alongside other numbers traditionally used in the given country to access emergency services. In some countries, calls to 112 are not connected directly but forwarded by the GSM network to local emergency numbers (e.g., 911 in North America or 000 in Australia)

112 is not always supported by VoIP operators or on non-GSM networks.

Origins

A "cocaine alert sign" posted by GGD Amsterdam: the sign reminds people to "Call 112 for an ambulance!"

112 was first standardised by a Recommendation by the CEPT in 1972 and later by a decision of the EU Council in 1991[1] and subsequently reaffirmed in 2002 by article 26 of the Universal Service Directive[2] and its subsequent amendments.[3]

This choice of number has the following advantages:

Implementation

The countries which use the 112 number for emergencies include:

In many countries, emergency numbers previously used also continue to be available; e.g. 061 and 112 in Spain, 999 and 112 both function in the UK. In the United States, only some carriers, including AT&T will map the number 112 to its emergency number 9-1-1.

Adoption

112 is managed and financed in the European Union by each member state (country) which also decide on the organization of the emergency call centres. The number is also adopted in the candidates for EU accession and members of the EEA agreement.

The International Telecommunications Union recommends that member states that are selecting a primary or secondary emergency number choose either 911, 112 or both.[7] 112 is one of two numbers (the other being the region's own emergency number) that can be dialed on most GSM phones even if the phone is locked.[8]

E112

E112 is a location-enhanced version of 112. The telecom operator transmits the location information to the emergency centre. The EU Directive E112 (2003) requires mobile phone networks to provide emergency services with whatever information they have about the location a mobile call was made. This directive is based on the FCC's Enhanced 911 ruling in 2001.

The new eCall project for automated emergency calls from cars is based on E1000.

European 112 Day

Since 2009 and a tripartite convention signed by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, 11 February (11/2) is the European 112 Day. At this occasion, events take place to promote the existence and the appropriate use of the EU emergency number.

The latest European 112 Day (11 February 2016) was a big event, with campaigns taking place in most European countries,[9] as well as on social media, with the hashtag #ISupport112.

The European Emergency Number Association has published some of the actions that were taken in European countries on their website.

Expert Group on Emergency Access (EGEA)

Getting 112 to work across the EU is a complex task. It requires in particular coordination between civil protection administrations (the emergency authorities who handle the call) and electronic communications administrations (who have to make sure that a 112 call reaches the emergency operator). That is why the Commission decided to act at European level and set up the Expert Group on Emergency Access (EGEA) at the end of 2005.

The objective of the group is to deal with practical issues Member States are facing to provide an efficient and effective 112 service to citizens. This group seeks practical solutions to problems experienced by the emergency services at local, regional or national levels and deals with issues related to the application of new technologies for communication with emergency services.

The European Commission decided that EGEA would not renewed for the year 2014. The European Commission noted that in case the work by the working group would appear necessary during the course of this period, this work would be fully covered and dealt with during regular Communication Committee (COCOM) meetings, or if needed, the composition of any of these groups could be called for a dedicated meeting back to back with a regular COCOM meeting.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "91/396/EEC: Council Decision of 29 July 1991 on the introduction of a single European emergency call number". eur-lex.europa.edu. 29 July 1991. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive)". eur-lex.europa.edu. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Directive 2009/136/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009". eur-lex.europa.edu. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Mobiles blamed for emergency calls, BBC News, 2000-03-21.
  5. ↑ Such locks were commonly used, e.g. "ABUS Telefonschloß T70 für Wählscheiben" in Germany.
  6. ↑ 112 in Turkey
  7. ↑ "Guidelines to select Emergency Number for public telecommunications networks" (PDF). International Telecommunications Union. 15 May 2008. p. 4. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  8. ↑ 3rd Generation Partnership Project (June 2002), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Man-Machine Interface (MMI) of the Mobile Station (MS);Service description, Stage 1 (Release 1998) (PDF), 3GPP TS 02.30 V7.1.1
  9. ↑ European 112 Day 2016 - Actions around Europe

External links

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