American Telephone & Telegraph Co., New York announced that its Bell Telephone System companies will adopt "911" as a nationwide emergency telephone number.

AT&T estimates its cost for the new system at more than $50 million. It said it will several years to extend it throughout Bell service areas. But it said that work with various agencies and municipalities will begin immediately to set up the system in large metropolitan areas.

Ben. S. Gilmer, president of AT&T, said the system is "in response to the expressed public need" for a common, easy-to-remember number for police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services. He said it will be designed to get "fast assistance in any emergency, regardless of the conditions."

But the new system may encounter some problems. Concern over possible jurisdictional problems in routing calls to proper law enforcement agencies in neighboring areas using the same phone system was expressed by Roger W. Reinke, a spokesman for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Washington, D.C., representing 7,500 law-enforcement executives. And he termed the mixing of police, fire and ambulance calls a "spectacular problem Bell has dumped in our laps."

Many independent telephone (non-Bell) companies object to Bell taking "unilateral" action in announcing the new system, according to William C. Moss, executive vice president of the U.S. Independent Telephone Association, also in Washington, representing 2,050 telephone companies. Many of them preferred selection of "zero," rather than a three-digit number, he said.

Generally the announcement was greeted with praise by government and industry officials, and Mr. Mott predicted that most independent companies will go along with the new system.

"Better Remembered than 007"

The "911" number "is going to be better remembered than 007", commented Lee Loevinger, Federal Communications Commission member who represented the FCC in talks with AT&T about the new system.

The FCC said it "welcomes and commends" the Bell System action. Rosel H. Hyde, chairman of the FCC, and Mr. Loevinger told a Washington news conference they don't expect the cost of installing the new system will force any increase in telephone rates. They noted that part of the cost will be paid by the public safety departments of the cities and communities that will make facilities available for the centralized calls.

The universal number had been recommended by the FCC, President Johnson, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and several members of Congress. Mr. Hyde and Mr. Loevinger said it also got a boost as a result of last summer's widespread civil disorders in major cities.

Phillip J. Lucier, president of Continental Telephone Corp., St. Louis, endorsed the universal number idea and noted, "the Bell System sets the pattern for the industry and in our planning we try to follow that patter." He added, however, that independents would better be able to estimate costs of installing the system if they had been in on its planning.

General Telephone & Electronics Corp., New York, which accounts for nearly half of the nation's non-Bell telephones, said it is studying the universal number system, but hasn't yet made a decision to install it.

A national number of "999" has been in operation for many years throughout most of the United Kingdom, receiving police, fire, ambulance, rescue and coast guard calls.

Pay Telephone Conversion

As part of the new number system, the Bell System will convert all of its pay telephones to a "dial tone first" system it already has used experimentally in Hartford, Conn. This permits a person to complete a "911" emergency call or a "zero" call to a Bell operator without depositing a coin. A coin must be deposited for all other calls. The U.K. also has this system in use.

Forrest Eherenman, assistant vice president of United Utilities Inc., Kansas City, Kan., telephone holding company, was among those criticizing the choice of "911" instead of "zero." He asserted than in some emergencies, such as someone suffering a stroke, the person "might have the strength for only one pull on the dial." And he added that three digits will be more difficult for children to call.

AT&T, however, said that it currently receives about 5.7 million calls a day on "zero," of which only about 40,000 for emergencies. It said it is reserving its one and two digit code number for new services to be offered with installation of electronic switching. Mr. Gilmer [top of next column]

also noted that Bell System operators, reached on "zero," will continue to assist callers with emergencies as they have in the past.

AT&T said it used a computer to select the "911" combination as a particularly rememberable number. It selected three digits because its existing nationwide system will accept three-digit code numbers.

The "911" calls will come into emergency switchboards operated and manned by public safety agencies. It's expected that local police, fire and ambulance services, and perhaps such Federal services as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service will share these switchboards.

At present emergency services in the U.S. each have their own local telephone numbers. These seven-digit numbers are difficult to memorize, and vary from city to city, and agency to agency. Calling a telephone operator for emergency help, rather than the specific agency needed, can delay aid, possible results in a pleas for help being directed to the wrong place, and could even raise a question of legal liability for the telephone company.

The new system will rely on the public safety switchboards to quickly and accurately direct emergency calls to the right place. It's expected to reduce the chances of an emergency line being busy. AT&T also said there will be provision for holding lines open to quickly trace calls of persons neglecting to give their location when requesting aid.

AT&T said it will run traffic surveys to determine the peak calling load of each agency that wants to participate in the universal number system, then will engineer into the system enough circuits to handle this peak load, plus a comfortable safety factor of additional circuits.

New York City's Police Department said its single emergency number (440-1234) has been working out well, with police even dispatching ambulances and relaying fire calls to the fire department. The department said it's receiving about 15,000 emergency calls a day. It's also considering adding computers that will automatically route emergency calls to the correct precinct of the caller.

Bell Telephone Co. of Canada said it also is concerned with the quick completion of emergency calls in that country, and is examining AT&T's new universal number system. [back to top]