https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Dallas to increase staffing at PSAP after 911-related deaths, agrees alleged ‘ghost’ calls not the problem

Dallas to increase staffing at PSAP after 911-related deaths, agrees alleged ‘ghost’ calls not the problem

  • Written by raidee
  • 1st October 2018

Bridget Alex expressed dismay that the 911 problem was not addressed earlier, so her son could have received needed help.

“This has been going on since November,” Bridget Alex said during an interview with NBC 5 in Dallas. “It took me to lose my son for y’all to call extra people, extra techs to be here.

“It took me to lose my six-month-old son? Why did my child have to be the example?”

At the time, Dallas officials claimed that the 911 delays was attributable to “ghost” calls from T-Mobile phones, according to multiple media reports during the past month and a press release issued by the city on March 7.

“Since November 2016, the City of Dallas 911 Call Center has experienced repeated 911 calls involving T-Mobile cell phone service,” the March 7 press release states. “Mobile devices on the T-Mobile network appear to make multiple 911 hang-up calls after someone makes a legitimate call to 911 for service. These ghost calls come into the 911 call system queue from the T-Mobile network, forcing 911 call takers to call every hang up to verify whether emergency service is needed.

“City officials and the Dallas Police Department have been working with T-Mobile to understand why this is the only carrier with a ghost-call issue. This has impacted the ability of callers to reach 911 in a timely manner, leaving legitimate 911 callers to be placed on hold for several minutes. Just last night 911 call takers had 360+ calls in queue.”

Officials for the city of Dallas and T-Mobile conducted a joint press conference on Wednesday. During the press conference, reporter David Taffet revealed that his husband—Brian Cross—died on March 6 after it took Taffet 20 minutes to reach 911. While attempting to administer CPR, Taffet’s first emergency call was disconnected, and his second call was put on hold. After Taffet reached 911, Cross was transported to a hospital, where he died.

During the Wednesday press conference, T-Mobile representatives agreed with Dallas officials’ sentiments that the city’s 911 problems need to be fixed as quickly as possible. However, the T-Mobile officials indicated that they were puzzled by the claims of “ghost” calls coming from devices operating on the T-Mobile network, noting that no similar problems had occurred elsewhere in the United States.

“Clearly, we are seeing a set of circumstances in Dallas which is unique,” T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray said during the press conference. “We have seen a very small incident outside the Dallas PSAP area. We are handling and delivering calls to over 4,000 PSAPs across the U.S. This year to date, we already have delivered over 9 million calls successfully, and we have not seen areccurrence of this problem in other PSAPs.

“That’s one of the tough pieces we’re trying to work through here. If this was more commonplace—God forbid—we would have more to work through, more to understand and more to research. But this problem—the volume and the level of call spikes here in Dallas—is unique for us, at this point in time.”

Tags:

Related Content

  • What Colonial Pipeline means for commercial-building cybersecurity
  • T-Mobile's 5G to connect drivers with remote-controlled cars in Vegas
  • Webinar addresses post-COVID messaging fatigue and how governments can best reach citizens
  • UK regulator takes first step to investigate Motorola Solutions about Airwave market power

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

AT&T becoming a “public-safety company” with FirstNet, NG911 work, exec says dlvr.it/Sj8FXL

9th February 2023
UrgentComm

Command-injection bug in Cisco industrial gear opens devices to complete takeover dlvr.it/Sj6X3l

8th February 2023
UrgentComm

AR-based next-gen maps aim to rebalance detail and simplicity dlvr.it/Sj4gdM

7th February 2023
UrgentComm

Vodafone UK starts ‘risky’ shift to 5G standalone dlvr.it/Sj4dPJ

7th February 2023
UrgentComm

ChatGPT may be fastest-growing app of all time, UBS Says dlvr.it/Sj4NfL

7th February 2023
UrgentComm

Public-safety coalition renews efforts to secure federal NG911 funding dlvr.it/ShwGfn

4th February 2023
UrgentComm

Newscan: Cyberattacks on DoE national labs draw lawmaker scrutiny dlvr.it/Shvpw3

3rd February 2023
UrgentComm

The shine begins to wear off 5G private wireless dlvr.it/Shth0P

3rd February 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.