Colorado: to test the 911 service, you must first place a normal call to the 911 center. WTF, they don’t think you might be unable to do that?

Submitted ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨debanqued@beehaw.org⁩ to ⁨technology@beehaw.org⁩

https://puc.colorado.gov/telecommunications-colorado-9-1-1-program-consumer-faqs

From the linked FAQ:

How can I make a test 9-1-1 call? To make a test 9-1-1 call, you need to first contact the 9-1-1 center that serves your area. The non-emergency numbers for Colorado’s 9-1-1 centers are available here(opens in new window). If you’re unsure which 9-1-1 center serves your area, call the 911 Program at 303-894-2871, and we’ll help you identify the 9-1-1 center for the location you want to test from.

When you call the 9-1-1 center, ask them if it would be okay to make a test 9-1-1 call. If they are particularly busy or are handling a major incident, they may ask you to call back at a later time.

When your phone cannot make normal calls for whatever reason¹, you obviously want to know if 911 calls will at least work. And the idiots design a test procedure that requires normal phone calls to work.

① Typical reasons why you may be unable to make normal calls:

You have a GSM phone with no GSM chip.
You are on a prepaid plan and have no credit.

So indeed the telecom industry has a glaring competency problem.

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Comments

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dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Well, I don’t think you need to make that first call from the same phone so it should be fine. How often have you had to test a 911 call with absolutely no other phones available that you can borrow for a moment?

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- debanqued@beehaw.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  First, it’s wrong to assume everyone has multiple phones.
  
  But if we can get past that, are you also assuming that the test phone has a phone number? Suppose you call the test center with a friend’s phone. The conversation goes like this:
  
  me: I will make a test call from a different phone than the one I am calling from.
  911 center: Okay, what is the phone number of the phone you are testing (so we know which inbound call to disregard)?
  me: The test phone is not subscribed. There is no number.
  
  Of course if a GSM phone has no chip, it also has no number assignment. If the test phone is a VOIP phone, the subscriber may not have a DID. There could be a phony internal number assignment in that case, but the customer does not necessarily know it.
  
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  - jbloggs777@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    It’s really not that complicated.
    
    They will answer the 911 call, you say this is just a test to ensure the functionality, thank them and then hang up.
    
    Worst case you get some person who complains about the test call, and you calmly explain that you called their non-emergency number beforehand to ensure that it would be OK, thank them, and then hang up.
    
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  - Rivalarrival@lemmy.today ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    
    911 center: Okay, what is the phone number of the phone you are testing (so we know which inbound call to disregard)?
    
    Your argument stems primarily from that point.
    
    The purpose of contacting them is not to identify what phone number will be making the call. The purpose of contacting them is to ensure they are not currently in the middle of a mass casualty incident that you don’t know about.
    
    They don’t care what number you will be making the call from. They care that they have the time and resources available to take it. If your test call is successful, you will tell them that it was a test call.
    
    As for your argument about not having a phone to make the initial call, it’s 2026, not 1926. You have a phone, it’s in your hands right now, and you’re using it to read this.
    
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Janx@piefed.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
I’m confused what you think a better alternative would be? If there was a test number, what if that worked, but you couldn’t call the real 911? There’s no way around it: to be absolutely sure your phone can contact 911, you have to… dial 911. They simply recommend you give them a heads-up on the non-emergency line to make sure they’re not too busy at the moment.

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- debanqued@beehaw.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  
  I’m confused what you think a better alternative would be? If there was a test number, what if that worked, but you couldn’t call the real 911?
  
  A test number would suffice in some situations. When an incompetent VOIP provider takes an action to block calls “for security purposes”, they cannot block /all/ calls. 911 calls must be permitted. And 911 test calls would obviously require the same status. If their call blocking allows a 911 test number through, it proves that their blockade is not blocking /everything/.
  
  A test number would not be the only solution. With some services you can set the CID to whatever you want. So in principle a CID of 555-1212 could have special meaning to 911 receiptionists.
  
  911 is not always answered by humans. When answered by a machine, there could be a cancel code. E.g. dial “119” after connecting to cancel it.
  
  There’s no way around it: to be absolutely sure your phone can contact 911, you have to… dial 911.
  
  Sure, if you need that extra level of certainty.
  
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  - locuester@lemmy.zip ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    You’ve complicated this. They say to contact them on non-emergent line to make sure it’s a good time for a test. What problem do you think you’re solving?
    
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  - dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Sounds like a bunch of good solution. Have you considered proposing those to the people who can actually implement them?
    
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B0rax@feddit.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Sorry maybe I don’t understand… but why do you want to make a 911 test call? Why do you want to call the emergency line if there is no emergency?

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- dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  To be sure that your (possibly rather unusual) phone or connection will work. Maybe you have an automated home security system, an emergency call button or your own GSM antenna that gives you access in a very remote area. That’s totally legit and many emergency hotlines have scheduled times when you can do that. They make sure they have additional staff during those times so test calls don’t interrupt regular operations. If you need to do a test outside those scheduled times, it’s polite to call a non-emergency line first to make sure they have the capacity to handle your test call. You wouldn’t want to bother them when they’re already understaffed or some large event causes a high call volume.
  
  In the end, an unannounced test call isn’t a big deal either. Just let them know right away what’s happening and they should be fine with it. Just make sure to stick what you actually need to test. Calling once a week or “testing” a phone that could also make regular calls could be considered disruption of emergency services.
  
  Disclaimer: I’m not professionally affiliated with any emergency service operator, just speaking from personal experience. I’ve had a couple of situations where I wasn’t sure if calling 112 (the European 911) was the right thing, always politely explained the situation and was always told that I had done the right thing. Operators would rather have you call than not call when you’re not sure.
  
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Quexotic@beehaw.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
I sympathize somewhat, but there many documented ways to test the functionality of a phone and its ability to make calls that would validate its ability to call 911 without actually calling it.

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- debanqued@beehaw.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Gotta reference? At the moment, I have a VOIP phone I need to test.
  
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TehPers@beehaw.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Within the US, you should be able to make a 911 call with a phone that has no service as long as it’s able to connect to the cell tower at all.

I don’t really have any recommendations on how to test this, though. If you have a phone with service, or a phone that once had service but doesn’t anymore, then those would be the devices I’d recommend reaching for in an emergency.

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