E711 - A public emergency wireless phone system

Abstract

This paper introduces the conceptual design of a new information technology integrating wireless telephony and Internet services to assist in locating lost or displaced people in a moment of crisis. This public safety service is based on a novel text messaging mobile-phone emergency service called "E711" which informs that the caller is safe and well. The proposed E711 messages are delivered as guaranteed SMS packets to a centralized web emergency registry operated by a public safety organization. Finding the whereabouts of a victim could be done by consulting the entries of this registry. The public could access the emergency database in a variety of ways including Internet searches and phone calls. Optionally, non-guarantee E711 SMS messages are forwarded to family and friends. We provide an algorithm to automatically recognize critical flow changes of E711 packets and dynamically adapt congested network gateways for optimum delivery. We argue that in case of high network traffic, the E711 system has a better chance of success than voice services such as E911 or person-to-person communication.