Students who depend on cell phones as their primary means of communication may need to be wary when dialing 911.

Recent studies and real-life situations indicated that cell phones are not always reliable in communicating a caller’s location to 911 dispatchers, said Gary Allen, editor of Dispatch Magazine On-Line.

“Cell phone users have become very dependent on that connection for family, friends and business and because of that, have become dependent on it for 911. But it is in fact a tenuous connection,” Allen said.

“You can’t just dial the number and say, ‘send help,’” he added.

While hard wired phones immediately communicate a caller’s location, cell phones bounce between different towers, said Greg Abbott, 911 coordinator for Champaign County’s communications center. When a wireless caller dials 911, it is first directed to the cell phone carrier’s tower and then reaches the communication center.

Calls are sometimes directed to towers outside the subject’s immediate location, Allen said.

“If you are in the middle of a location and are a little higher up you may hit a tower that’s twelve miles away, not two miles away,” he added.

In most cases, confusion about a caller’s whereabouts is cleared up by trained dispatchers. In more severe cases, however, callers may be injured or in a precarious situation and cannot communicate their location, Allen said.

Both the cell phone carriers and communication centers need updated technology in order to appropriately aid wireless callers, he said. The Federal Communications Commission has required both entities to update their technology.

“They’ve given them a couple of years, but it’s still being rolled out across America,” Allen added.

Funding has proven to be the biggest obstacle, so most cell phone companies tacked on charges to monthly bills, he said. However, some rural areas have difficulty funding upgrades to their communication centers.

“It’s a fairly expensive technology upgrade and lots of smaller cities and counties are having trouble funding this,” Allen said. “We’re sort of at a bad time to start tacking on charges or fees to residents.”

College towns warrant a large number of cell phone users, which can be an issue, Allen said.

Kendra Burden, freshman in DGS, said she’d opt to use her cell phone over the emergency phones on campus.

“I have a cell phone,” she said. “I feel really safe.”

Approximately 65 percent of calls Champaign County 911 communications center receives are from cell phones, Abbott said.

“We usually don’t have a problem with people in campus getting connected,” he added.

Another issue that 911 may need to address is the role of emerging technology in contacting the emergency services.

“Even an ordinary person can communicate in so many different ways,” Abbott said. “People want to text 911 or e-mail them.”

Still, despite the mode of communication, it is important to be aware of your location, Abbott said.

“Be aware when you’re walking down the street,” he said. “When an emergency strikes, you might have a momentary lack of memory and think ‘Where the heck am I?’”