The introduction of Advanced Mobile Location is a significant development for Australia’s Triple Zero Emergency Call Service and offers peace of mind for travellers in regional and remote Australia. Imagine this. You’re driving along a country back road that you…
Imagine this. You’re driving along a country back road that you are totally unfamiliar with and, suddenly, you come across a serious motor vehicle crash. You are the first on scene and you realise emergency services are required urgently. You grab your mobile phone and dial 000 and the operator answers. They ask you for your location and you barely know the name of the road let alone where you are on it. They ask you what is the nearest intersection in order to try to narrow down position but you have no idea of that either. This all takes precious time. Time the injured occupants of the crashed vehicle may not have.
Fortunately, this situation is going to be a thing of the past with the introduction of Advanced Mobile Location to Australia’s Triple Zero (000 & 112) Emergency Call Service.
Telstra is contracted by the federal government to provide the Tripple Zero call service. An announcement made today by Michael Ackland, Group Executive, Consumer & Small Business, described the new feature and the advantages it provides.
“The introduction of Advanced Mobile Location is a significant development for Australia’s Triple Zero (000 & 112) Emergency Call Service. The development and implementation of this technology have required extensive coordination and collaboration between the Australian Government, Telstra as the initial answering point for emergency calls, mobile carriers, State and Territory Emergency Service Organisations, mobile operating system providers (Google for Android-based devices and Apple for iOS-based devices), and mobile device suppliers.”
“When you dial the Triple Zero Emergency Call Service, every second counts. It is vitally important that emergency dispatchers can get emergency services to where you need help as soon as possible. Intelligent Apple and Android smartphones with location services and new technology can now help Emergency Services operators to work out where you’re calling from.”
“Advanced Mobile Location or AML is a technology that allows capable smartphones to send their location to Emergency Services when the user connects to the Triple Zero Emergency Call Service. Given that more than 77 per cent of calls to Triple Zero Emergency Call Service are from a mobile phone, this technology has the potential to save the lives of those who need it most.”
“Examples provided from other countries that have implemented Advanced Mobile Location indicate that when used outdoors, AML can be capable of providing a caller’s estimated location within five metres of the actual location, and indoors it can provide a caller’s estimated location within 25 metres. Australia joins Europe, the UK and New Zealand in deploying Advanced Mobile Location and AML is already saving lives in those countries.”
You already have it! That’s the cool aspect of this new technology. Advanced Mobile Location is not an app, but instead uses a technology built into your Apple or Android smartphone’s operating system. If your device has AML, the functionality will only be activated when you make an emergency call (000 & 112), and once the call is completed, it will be turned off or deactivated.
It is vitally important to note that you can only call Tripple Zero when you are in the range of one of the three mobile phone networks; Telstra, Optus or Vodaphone. It doesn’t matter which network you are with. Your phone doesn’t even need to have a SIM card in it or be unlocked by the owner. As long as you’re within range of at least one of these networks and you have sufficient battery charge available, you can dial Tripple Zero.
If you are travelling in remote areas, keep in mind ordinary mobile phones cannot access the satellite phone network if they are out of range of the mobile phone network. You need a satellite phone in these circumstances or a personal locator device to initiate an emergency response.
When deciding if calling Tripple Zero is appropriate, ask yourself these four questions:
If you answered YES to any on these questions, call Triple Zero (000).
Triple Zero calls are free.
If you call Tripple Zero, stay focused, stay relevant and stay on the line.
