The technology allows an individual that requires emergency assistance may text an emergency number as opposed to calling it. Emergency services are conventionally reached through voice-based calls dialling an emergency telephone number. However, such systems assume that the caller is able to communicate by voice and may exclude the impaired. It is generally presented as an alternative, and not as a replacement, to calling (which is still preferred.) Texting to emergency services present themselves as a viable alternative if the individual is disabled, in a situation where speaking out loud would compromise the caller's safety, where speaking would impede help, or where network coverage is limited, as text messages take up less data. Some services require prior registration (such as in Singapore and the United Kingdom, see below), some are strictly for the medically impaired, while most are available for usage by the public-at-large as necessary.
Call centres in the United States are usually funded by both state and federal funding, therefore limited funding and outdated technology have slowed the widespread adoption of text-to-911. Moreover, many communities are concerned about overuse of texting, which may slow response times. This leads to decreased local allocation of resources and funding as it is not conclusive whether text-to-911 is effective to invest in, thereby relying on federal funding which may be slower.
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