Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Map Star expands 9-1-1 to cell phones

Clark County 9-1-1 coordinator Charles Bullard said most cell phone users needing help can now be accurately located by satellite because of a new program called Map Star, which completes Phase II of the Federal Communication Commission's mandate in 1998.

Bullard, who has been 9-1-1 coordinator for Clark County since February of 1994, said Map Star enhances the program to help cell phone users have quick access to police, fire, and ambulance.

As of March, Clark is one of 13 counties, out of 75 in Arkansas, that now has an up and running Phase II cell phone 9-1-1 system.

"We can tell you what number they called us from and then go through Map Star and tell you where that cell phone physically is through a satellite system," Bullard said.

The regular 9-1-1 address and telephone match book for Clark County was completed in 35 months, being tested in October of 1996 with nearly 4,700 addresses assigned. Updates continue as people move and build.

This was well under the three to five years allowed by the FCC to set up Clark County 9-1-1. Bullard was determined to be ahead of the game with Phase II as well.

Knowing it would take money, he applied for and received a $67,611 grant from the Public Safety Foundation of America, a Florida-based organization. The grant was approved in February of 2004 and specifically earmarked for Phase II of the 9-1-1 program.

Under the regular 9-1-1, each name, address and home telephone is matched to get the customer service. The original 9-1-1 book is still there for dispatchers to look through, but Phase II goes through satellite and lights up a map on the dispatchers screen for fast and easy access to the cell phone user. Map Star also works on regular telephone numbers.

"We tweaked it to do that to give our dispatchers a little time edge on the regular calls," Bullard said. "We have tested Map Star on cell phones from AT&T, Nextel, Alltel and Sprint. This satellite location ability through four cell phone companies puts Map Star up and running and in line with the FCC order. Cingular is on board but yet to come for testing. They are the only other cell phone we know of here and they will be running in the next three to four months."

Outside of Caddo Valley or Arkadelphia itself, which have 9-1-1 through the Arkadelphia Police Department, Map Star for Gurdon and other outlying towns in the county goes through the Clark County Sheriff's Department, according to Bullard.

"My future plans are to have a Map Star laptop computer in each sheriff's deputy's car, but that is an enhancement idea of mine. We are working on it," he said.

Bullard said Johnny West, of Arkadelphia, is working on efficient Phase II laptop programs. Bullard said there are plans to test two such laptops in sheriff's deputy vehicles, but the current program takes five steps to get into the map using a laptop.

"We have two OSHA approved mounts for laptops," Bullard said. "We want a program where the location can be in front of the deputy within one or two steps. We want speed, like with the dispatcher computers."

Bullard said what had to happen for Phase II was to hire a map expert on global positioning. He had to take the Clark County 9-1-1 data, roads etc. and convert it to a mapping system, which used the satellite communication.

This gives a cell phone caller a name, location, and supporting responders.

"I paid approximately $32,000 to Charles Molsbee, out of Royal Arkansas (M&M Geographic) and got these graphic maps with our data," Bullard said. "Molsbee started in June of 2003 and finished in January. He was the low bidder and won the bid. In other words, he made my addresses fit the map through satellite."

Clark County 9-1-1 paid Southwestern Bell, the service's equipment provider, another $43,000 to install this satellite map information and make it available through proper computers to dispatchers for practical use. Bullard said part of that money went for training on how to use it.

"This was a shared project. We put about $12,000 up front of county money as a show of good faith to get this Phase II mandate operational," he said.

"With our grant, the service is still essentially cost free to the citizens of our county."

Bullard said the Clark County grant availability came to his attention through Ron Taylor, Pike County 9-1-1. Bullard did the work on the basic 9-1-1 for Pike and Clark County, but Taylor took over the maintenance work for Pike County in 2002.

"He got his grant for Phase II first," Bullard said. "But the grant is population based so ours was larger because Clark County is twice as big as Pike."

In another improvement on 9-1-1, Bullard said, as of Sept. 15, all 9-1-1 radio traffic calls are recorded on DVD, with 4.7 gigabytes available. The previous method was a DAT tape, with 275 hours.

Bullard said the number of 9-1-1 calls per day vary, but five or six a day is not unusual for Clark County. This may go to 10-12 in a few minutes if a bad wreck happens.