We’ve previously talked about a 999 text message service that’s being trialled in parts of the UK. Now the United States is doing something very similar in Iowa’s Black Hawk County. Residents of the Washington area can send texts to 911, with picture message and video message capability planned for the future.
Currently it’s only available to customers of T-Mobile affiliate i wireless who need to register with the scheme before they use it. They’ll also need to include their zip code (postcode) with each SMS message; without this, texts won’t be forwarded to the emergency operators. [Source: InformationWeek.com]