"Old" Cell Phones and 911 Service

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by lottamoxie

You get literally get free service from a provider like Freedompop. I believe it's 200mb/mo data and something like 200 or more minutes per month and 200 or more texts/month. They have SIM cards and LTE service. Those will work in smartphones that aren't locked to any network and can use GSM networks (like AT&T).

Again, what's the catch? No one gives away anything for nothing!

UPDATE: I found I was able to purchase just 30 more minutes (and 30 service days) and then "add on" 365 additional service days with that purchase. Again, I virtually never use minutes, but I have to have days to keep the phone operational.

Thanks all!

[fuzzmanks]

Originally Posted by otterhere

Mine isn't particularly old, but I seldom if ever use it and really carry it only for emergencies. I've read that phones not connected to a service provider (that is, without a SIM card, contract, or minutes/service days on a pre-paid) can still be used to make 911 calls. Obviously I don't want to test this theory since it's a crime to make "false" calls for non-emergent reasons, but I wonder if being broken down on the side of the road in a disabled car would qualify as an emergency and how the dispatcher would handle that. Would help be sent?

A few years ago, I tested my old flip phone (that had no service for a few years) by calling 911. I had a friend that was on-duty in dispatch and I was given permission to test my old phone. The call did go through but since the phone didn't have the GPS chip the location wasn't exact. It did not display (to the Dispatcher) the last used phone number assigned to the phone, but a number that was generated by the cell tower/phone company. But that number displayed to the Dispatcher was like a tracking number and not a real phone number that 911 could call back.



This means hopefully you know where you are and that all the needed information was given during the call because 911 could not call you back if there was a problem in locating you.


I've read that Verizon plans to disable all of the old CDMA equipment at their towers by the end of this year. So I'm guessing if an old old phone doesn't have GSM or LTE type of signal then a 911 call won't go thru on Verizon towers.

[otterhere]

Thanks for that info. You always hear that you can use an old phone to make emergency calls (at one point they passed them out to the indigent to use just for that purpose), but it's not legal to test it, so... I guess you would just hope and pray it works if ever needed!