9-1-1 emergency call system

After AT&T made 9-1-1 available in 1968 as the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan, local governments across the U.S. began its implementation. SRI was a nationally recognized leader in the design, engineering, and analysis of several early implementations. In their reports, SRI engineers predicted correctly that response time by emergency personnel would be reduced with the public’s use of 9-1-1 services.

SRI was also first to propose that a tax on telephone lines be used by government to pay for 9-1-1 systems—today the accepted means of covering system costs.

By 1979, approximately 800 emergency call systems were in place across the country. Today, virtually every municipality across the U.S. has a 9-1-1 system in operation. An estimated 240 million 9-1-1 calls are made each year.