Enhanced 9-1-1 (e911)

TELUS E911 service is currently accessible in most of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI, Saskatchewan, the Greater Winnipeg area of Manitoba and the Greater Halifax area of Nova Scotia.

E911 is not yet available in Newfoundland due to limitations with landline network capabilities. However, Basic 9-1-1 service is available.

If E911 is not yet available in your area, you will be able to access it when you roam into E911 coverage areas.

Displays your mobile phone number to emergency operators as well as the location of the cellular site carrying your call.

All phones and smartphones support E911 Phase 1.

Provides improved location information to emergency operators. While Phase 1 is able to give the tower location, Phase 2 can also provide the longitude and latitude of the caller.

E911 calls from mobile phones are subject to the same limitations as regular calls from mobile phones. For example, if you’re underground or too far from a network antenna, your signal quality may be affected and you may not be able to connect to the network.

All phones and smartphones introduced as of February 1, 2010 support E911 Phase 2.

Starting April 6, 2019, all GPS-enabled devices globally will go through a clock rollover event. These devices include phones and smartphones. A small percentage of these phones will be negatively impacted by this rollover event.

TELUS customers using select phones and smartphones may have impacts on their location accuracy if that location is provided via GPS. E911 is an example of a service that uses the location details, and this location detail comes from various sources, of which GPS is one. In the event that GPS does not work, the phone can fall back to other sources of location, namely cell tower location, which will yield a location, but with slightly lower accuracy.

TELUS has worked with manufacturers to roll out fixes to affected devices. If your device is listed below, please update it to the latest software.

• Alcatel A50 (5085O)
• Alcatel 1 (5033O)
• Alcatel Lume (A466T)
• Alcatel Pixi 3(4) (A460T)
• Alcatel Pixi 3(4.5) (5017O)

Some devices, however, will not receive software patches due to their age. If your device is listed below, it is recommended that you are aware of this issue and exercise caution if you find yourself in a 9-1-1 situation. Alternatively, you can visit your nearest TELUS store to purchase a new device.

• Alcatel A392A / A392CC
• Alcatel Idol X+ (6043A)
• RIM BlackBerry Curve (9320)
• RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G (9300)
• RIM BlackBerry Torch (9800)
• RIM BlackBerry Bold (9700)
• RIM BlackBerry Curve (9360)
• RIM BlackBerry Bold (9780)
• RIM BlackBerry Bold (9790)
• HUAWEI Ascend Y330
• HTC Desire 320a (0PF1100)
• Motorola Charm (MB502)
• Motorola Defy (MB525)
• Motorola Key (EX225)
• Motorola Milestone (A853)
• Nokia 3710
• Nokia E71
• Nokia E72
• Sonim XP5560
• Sonim XP5560IS

There is a potential issue affecting 9-1-1 calling from certain Android devices with downloaded VoIP applications such as Viber or Skype. You may be unable to complete calls to 9-1-1 if you have downloaded one of these apps and have made it the default call dialer on your device.

When you attempt to dial 9-1-1, the app dialer cannot process the call, because for 9-1-1 calls the VoIP application will revert back to the phone dialer to connect the call. However, if you have adjusted your settings to "Always use the app dialer", the phone dialer will send the call back to the VoIP app. A loop results and the 9-1-1 call cannot be connected.

The settings within the application must be changed and ‘Just Once’ should be the default dialer setting.

Please do not dial 9-1-1 to test your device.

From your Android device:

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap Application Manager
3. Tap on the Menu button on the device
4. Tap Reset app preferences
5. Tap Reset apps

Note: When using a VoIP app such as Skype or Viber, always press Just once when prompted for use as the default dialer. This will ensure you are able to successfully place a 9-1-1 call if required.

We are committed to protecting our customers and notifying them of any issues that impact emergency 9-1-1 calling from their TELUS devices. Google has indicated that this is a global problem and they are working with these app developers to fix this issue.

There is a fee collected in select provinces for the benefit of local 9-1-1 emergency operations centres. The amount of the fee is regulated in each province and the funds collected are used to facilitate local 9-1-1 services. Customers in Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Québec and Saskatchewan will be affected. Refer to the table below for specific fee amounts, varying by province:

There is a fee, Call Answer Levy, collected in select provinces for the benefit of local 9-1-1 emergency operations centres. The amount of the fee is regulated in each province and the funds collected are used to facilitate local 9-1-1 services. Customers in Saskatchewan, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador will be affected. Refer to the table below for specific fee amounts, varying by province:

*for participating Municipalities

Canadians depend on the provision of reliable and effective 9-1-1 services to seek help in an emergency. As technology and consumers’ needs evolve, so do consumers’ expectations related to 9-1-1 services. In the coming years, telecommunications networks across Canada, including the networks used to make 9-1-1 calls, will continue to transition to Internet Protocol (IP) technology.

This will enable Canadians to access new, enhanced, and innovative 9-1-1 services with IP-based capabilities, referred to as next-generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) services. For example, Canadians could stream video from an emergency incident, send photos of accident damage or a fleeing suspect, or send personal medical information, including accessibility needs, which could greatly emergency responders.

New functions are:

• Unified NG9-1-1 PSAP interoperability and selective transfer across the country through inter-ESInet connectivity
• Real-time text to 9-1-1 (RTT9-1-1)
• Telematics such as vehicle-initiated advanced automatic crash notifications
• Real-time video calling
• Transmission of additional forms of data such as pictures, videos, medical records and floor plans
• Other methods of IP-based communications

CRTC Decision 2017-182.

Important Dates

CRTC Mandated dates that TELUS must adhere to:

• NG9-1-1 network to be available for all PSAPs by March 1, 2022
• RTT (Real Time Text) to be enabled on network by TBD
• Legacy 9-1-1 Network to be decommissioned by March 4, 2025

Standards

NG9-1-1 is based on Nena i3 standards.

PSAP Considerations

PSAPs will be required to make changes within their organization in order to connect to NG9-1-1 Network.

Existing phone systems will have to be replaced with Nena i3 compliant Call Handling Systems.

• Call Handling Systems will have the ability to receive SIP traffic and RTT
• Call Handling Systems will also have to take into account the future potential of Additional Data (multimedia, video, etc.)

What are NG9-1-1 services?

NG9-1-1 allows the public to send digital data to 9-1-1 call centers, or public safety answering points (PSAPs), and lets the PSAPs receive data from other transmitting devices such as wearable medical devices, car computers and building alarms.

What does NG9-1-1 stand for?

Because most 9-1-1 systems were originally built using analog rather than digital technologies, public safety answering points (PSAPs) across the country need to be upgraded to a digital or Internet Protocol (IP)-based 9-1-1 system, commonly referred to as Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1).

What does PSAP stand for?

Public-safety answering point.

A public-safety answering point (PSAP), sometimes called "public-safety access point" is a call center where emergency calls (like police, fire brigade, ambulance) initiated by any mobile or landline subscriber are terminated.

What is ESInet?

An ESInet is a managed IP network that is used for emergency services communications, and which can be shared by all. Public Safety agencies. It provides the IP transport infrastructure upon which independent application platforms and core.

Starting March 1, 2022, an additional fee of $0.14 will be levied on top of the existing E9-1-1 fees on each wireline voice service in BC and AB to help build the Next Generation 9-1-1 network.

¹CRTC Interim approvals effective March 1, 2022.
²CRTC approvals effective January 1, 2022.