The West Midlands Police said the new service will let the hard-of-hearing and speech impaired use short-message services (SMS) on wireless phones to call the police in an emergency.

Max Corney, IT communications manager, said existing methods of contacting the police did not work for those who have trouble hearing or speaking. "We hope that by offering text messaging we can provide a quality service to a large group of people who, in the past, have had real difficulty in making contact with their local police," he said.

Implementation of the initiative follows an idea submitted to the department by administrative worker Tim Humpherson. "As a deaf person, I recognize the missing link, which is crucial for deaf communities to be able to contact the emergency services. Many deaf people already send and receive text messages extensively on their mobile phones."

Not just anyone can use the service, though -- it will only be available to hearing- and speech-challenged people who live in the West Midlands, officials said. Those who wish to use the new service will have to apply in writing, and their information will be stored in a police database.

The West Midlands Police department will distribute application forms to eligible citizens at local deaf centers and associations. Information can be found on the department's Web site starting next Monday (July 15). As the service is only available to pre-registered users who complete an application form, the telephone number for the new service will not be widely advertised, officials added.

A number of U.K. police departments have already shown interest in the emergency messaging service, and an expansion to other areas is expanded, officials said. Word about the new service will be spread with the help of deaf groups and associations.

A survey by the Birmingham Institute of the Deaf (BID) shows 98% of hearing-impaired people in the U.K. use SMS text messaging, and 85% would like to use the service to contact the police.

TTY Texting in the U.S.

Hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired residents depend on tele-typewriters (TTYs) to communicate with one another, or with people, companies and organizations that have TTYs installed. Conversations via TTY are essentially the same as discussions held via instant messaging (IM), but TTYs don't use the Internet or corporate networks. TTYs have been around for a lot longer than IM, too.

Up until now, TTYs in the U.S. have typically used the "wired" telephone network. Now, though, TTY customers can use the machines on many wireless phones. The Federal Communications Commission mandated that all digital-wireless service providers be capable of transmitting 911 calls via TTY by June 30.

The use of the TTY/wireless device combination for emergency 911 calls, though, isn't quite yet a reality, according to Sprint PCS. Some tests have shown difficulty in completing 911 calls via wireless-equipped TTYs to some public-safety answering points (PSAPs) that have older TTY equipment and software.

"We don't even know how big that problem is right now," Jim Turner, technical coordinator for the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), told Telecommunications Reports. Turner added that testing was being conducted and public-safety groups are being contacted about the situation.

Wireless-based TTY emergency calls that can't be transmitted to a properly equipped PSAP can still be transmitted through Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) offered by various carriers by dialing "711."

At least TTYs can now use most digital wireless networks in the U.S. Sprint PCS last month announced that its network now supports TTY capabilities. And in a report dated June 28, the FCC said digital-wireless service providers are implementing TTY capabilities in their networks in a "timely" manner. At a recent meeting of the ATIS's TTY Forum (cited in the FCC report), four other nationwide wireless services -- AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel and VoiceStream -- all said they would have TTY capability on their systems by June 30. And the FCC said Verizon Wireless was expected to meet the June 30 deadline for TTY capability as well.

Several carriers -- mainly small, rural companies -- have been granted extra time by the FCC in implementing TTY on their networks. The carriers said they needed the extensions because they're having difficulties in securing the hardware and/or software needed for the upgrades. Other carriers, including AT&T Wireless and VoiceStream, have been given extensions by the FCC because of changes in network technologies. VoiceStream's extension covers four areas in Pennsylvania. AT&T Wireless' extension is for 30 large markets across the U.S., including Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, New York City, Phoenix and Seattle, that currently have GSM coverage.

Bob Woods is the managing editor of InstantMessagingPlanet.