Lee Humphreys is a professor of communication at Cornell University who studies the social uses and perceived effects of communication technology on our lives. Her coursework includes topics such as mobile communication and its use by the hearing and speech impaired, and she comments here on how the FCC’s accelerated plan to bring text communication to the nationwide 911 emergency response system is a big win for these communities.

Humphreys says:

“I think the most important point of text to 911 is what the announcement indicates – equal opportunity to emergency services for hearing- and speech-impaired users. Of course there are other situations where one might not want to speak, but the call for accelerated rollout is really about making sure these communities can have the independence and emergency assurance that the rest of us take for granted.

“There's been a fair bit of research about how mobiles have impacted the hearing- and speech-impaired communities. While text messaging was not designed explicitly for the deaf community, they have benefited from it greatly. In particular, they do not necessarily need specialized technology to communicate with others. As such, there can be a greater sense of independence and freedom. I think 911 by text is the next step in ensuring these communities can equally leverage the communication technologies we all keep with us everyday.”

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