Familiar Emergency Number in Mexico, As 9-1-1 Comes into Effect

 

North American expats are familiar with calling 9-1-1 for emergencies; now it is easy to access emergency services in many states of Mexico, including Quintana Roo.  According to The Federal Telecommunications Institute IFT, 16 states across Mexico will migrate all emergency phone numbers over to 9-1-1,  on October 3, 2016.  It is expected the remaining states of Mexico will begin the migration over to 9-1-1 in January 2017 and scheduled to be fully migrated by June 2017.

The first states to migrate to 9-1-1 are Quintana Roo, Baja California, Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Sonora, Tlaxcala, Puebla, and Zacatecas.

Emergency numbers included in the migration include medical, civil protection and security services.

For the first six months, 9-1-1 service will overlap with the existing individual emergency numbers for each category, police, fire and medical to ensure quick and reliable service. The 911 service will be administered nationally by the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System. The new service will automatically georeference the caller’s location and connect them to the closest emergency call center. Previously each emergency agency had its own phone number, the unified number will eliminate multiple reports of the same incident to each of the  emergency numbers.

Authorized phone dealers must allow the geographical location of callers, and provide 9-1-1 calls and text messages free of charge. This includes pay as you go cell phones with no credit having access to 9-1-1.

El Universal reports there will be 194 call centers located throughout Mexico and employ 3,000 operators, plus 300 supervisors. Vizcaíno, The executive director of the National Public Security System, states emergency calls currently average 10 million a month, 90% of which are prank calls.