Mexico: Carbyne and Google provide Android Emergency Location Service

Carbyne has partnered with Google to offer advanced mobile location to emergency communications centres (ECCs) throughout Mexico. Carbyne will provide Google's Android ELS (Emergency Location Service) in real-time from emergency calls made on Android devices.

Deployment of the solution can be performed without any integration between Carbyne’s systems and the ECCs’ pre-existing ones. ELS technology securely and automatically shares the caller's location with emergency dispatchers when ELS has been activated in the caller's region. This information is only produced when an emergency call Is made to an authorised and approved emergency communications centre. ELS works on any device that has Google Play Services running on Android OS 4.0 and up.

Both Carbyne and Google participated in a four-week pilot programme in Mexico, during which Carbyne's engineering & operations teams and their partners resolved numerous technical issues. Authorised Mexican ECCs can now sign up to receive ELS information via Carbyne’s website. They will be able to connect to Carbyne’s gateway for free, either through approved CAD or call-taking providers who are operating in approved 911 agencies, or via the free version of Carbyne's NG911 plugin c-Lite, if ELS is the only capability being used.

The full version of c-Lite, which according to Carbyne was used with great success by the State of Mexico during the pilot period, can provide a complimentary device-based location through Carbyne's integration with other widely available personal communications solutions for calls where Android ELS location is unavailable. It can also deliver live, on-scene video from smartphones and municipal cameras, chat functionality and more.

"Carbyne's ability to solve the technology issues we faced with some of the carriers during the pilot gave me immense confidence that they were the right partner for this solution," stated Maestro Hugo de la Cuadra Mendoza, the head of the C5 Command for the State of Mexico. "The combination of Android ELS and Carbyne's c-Lite product has been a huge leap forward for citizen safety in the State of Mexico, and I am glad to see Carbyne providing ELS to agencies nationwide."

"In situations where every second counts, panic-stricken callers should not have to waste time trying to describe where they are, and dispatchers should not have to risk sending first responders and resources to the wrong location," said Amir Elichai, founder and CEO of Carbyne. "We are proud to present our technology-forward vision to public safety worldwide and to work with Google in Mexico as the secure provider for this life-saving data. I am proud of the work done by our team during the pilot program and look forward to working with public safety agencies across the country to make a huge leap forward in improving emergency response. We are honoured to work with Google to launch ELS in Mexico."