Cell Phones.. did you know??

There are a lot of variables involved, such as different carriers use different technology. The carriers hand off the 911 calls to the 911 provider for that county, who route it to the appropriate call center, though with cellular, especially old cellular, that is guess work at its best. I would not rely on having an old cell phone as my primary form of communication in an emergency. Depending on its age and software, it might only transmit the lat/long of the cell tower ( phase 1 wireless) instead of the approx. lat/long of those phone (phase 2 wireless).. Of course, i still have a landline home phone for that very same reason. I have been a manager of a primary 911 center ( technically a Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP) for many years. In our quarterly meetings with our 911 providers (Verizon an AT&T ), there has been no mention of new technology as you mentioned, nor have I read anything about it in the NENA or APCO notices. The NexGen 911 will have more enhanced features, such as the ability to text 911. Texting is much more reliable than voice when there is sketchy service. NextGen isn't mandated in Calif until July 2014.