racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

112 is the GSM standard emergency number, as stated in a wikipedia article on answers.com:

The GSM mobile phone standard includes 112 as an emergency number. This applies even if the local emergency number is different. This is convenient for people that travel to other countries and may not know the local emergency number. For example, some people have reported that 112 works on GSM networks in the United States.

On GSM networks, the number 112 has an advantage that it may work if the mobile phone is within the range of any GSM network, even if the one the phone is subscribed to is out of range, whereas the national emergency number often will not. For example, if I somewhere in Australia with an Optus GSM mobile phone, and there is Telstra but not Optus coverage in the area, if I dial 112, my mobile phone will try any reachable network to connect through (i.e. Telstra), but if I dial 000 (Australia’s national emergency number), it will try to connect through Optus and fail, since the phone does not realise it is a special number.

The article also cites that “some GSM networks (e.g. in Belgium, Spain, UK, Liechtenstein) will only handle emergency calls from people with a valid account on their network,”—this is very much applicable to local GSM networks.

Hence, my gripe with the three major mobile telcos (Globe, Smart, Sun Cellular, and subsidiaries thereof): Dial 112 and you are greeted by a recording that either the number is unavailable, or you have to hang up and then dial the local emergency number 117.

As cited by technobiography.blogspot.com (the link leading to the DILG site was dead as of this writing), the 117 service is …

A centrally managed and secured telephone central monitoring station provided by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and operated by qualified well-trained personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and PLDT.

It is indeed good to have a “centrally managed and secured telephone central monitoring station,” (see here for success stories). But I believe the service is flawed, especially in the aspect of making emergency calls from mobile phones. Aside from the possibility that calling 117 may not exactly be toll-free from the GSM carriers, the service costs PhP 5.50 (approx US$ 0.10) per call. And you can be sure that unless you have adequate cellsite signal and calling/texting ability (i.e., prepaid credits or being still within postpaid credit limits), your call will not push through.

Imagine this scenario: you meet a major accident along a remote highway, and you need to call for help. You have along your mobile phone, which is subscribed to Sun Cellular. Of all the misfortune, your phone is out of coverage (which is very common with Sun Cellular in remote areas these days)! You have no means of calling the emergency number 117, even if your area is covered by the two other telcos. In contrast, elsewhere in the world, you can dial 112 and you will be diverted to an operator as long as you can connect to any GSM network. This is especially worse if you’re a foreigner visiting Philippine soil. You’re familiar with the 112 emergency number, but having to place another call to 117 when you’re not assured of speedy arrival of help surely sucks.

I believe that Government should make arrangements with telcos to provide for such emergency services at 100% availability and for free, especially given the high mobile-phone penetration rate among Filipinos. Otherwise, efforts for coordinated emergency response services would only be in vain.

Talk about public service! Makes me wonder where our taxes and payments for mobile services go to.

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