Control room now sees 112 caller location with Android smartphone smart

From this month, the control room will be able to see the location of Android phones that call 112. The feature works on the basis of advanced mobile location that providers are initially introducing for Android smartphones.

Smartphones with Android 4.0 or later versions of the OS will automatically send location data when they call the emergency number from March. According to the police, ‘fast, accurate and reliable location determination is of great importance to help citizens in need faster and more efficiently and to better facilitate the emergency services’. Before sending emergency services, the dispatcher of the control room will still ask the caller to verify where he is.

The technique works on the basis of advanced mobile location or aml. This ensures that the location services of a smartphone are automatically switched on when calling an emergency number. The device sends an SMS to the control room containing the coordinates of where the device is located and the accuracy of that data, the telephone number, the imei and imsi numbers. Users cannot simply disable aml and obviously the feature cannot distinguish whether a caller is calling for themselves or for another who is in need. It is not known how long the police will keep the data.

As soon as the caller hangs up, aml switches itself and the location services off again. Google already integrated the feature in Android in 2016. Providers will enable these from this month. The aml function for iOS is still under development and there should also be an 112 app that allows users to reach the emergency number and which automatically provides the location. Previously, the location determination for 112 calls was based on the location of the cell tower, which made it inaccurate.