911 center moves ahead

The director said there are more cell phones in the county than regular ones.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County may be able to start loading phone numbers into its 911 system in July.
Director Robert Emmons said Tuesday the process will depend on how many numbers and other information that needs to be corrected.
The project was delayed because subdivisions were slow in submitting their boundaries to the county's 911 technical advisory committee. The boundaries will determine which of the five centers will receive a call.
AT & amp;T received the information at the end of January. The information will be loaded into AT & amp;T computers when it is 99 percent correct. After that, the lists will be updated daily for new numbers or other changes.
The list could be ready in as little as three weeks, Emmons said. It's about 96 percent correct, meaning there are about 1,000 or fewer errors on numbers or addresses.
Numbers
Emmons said there are about 35,000 regular -- or land line -- telephone lines in the county. He said he believes there are more cell phones -- or wireless -- phones in the county now.
The county will have to map Columbiana later using global positioning technology that will tell authorities where a 911 call was made on a cell phone.
Emmons said that circuits that connect the five answering points have been installed. One center could transfer its calls to another.
Circuits also have been installed that connect AT & amp;T's Selective Routing Unit in Kent. Emmons said that center handles calls for all northeastern Ohio.
All calls in the county will go to the routing unit, no matter what telephone company or wireless provider the customer uses. The routing unit will then send it to the county's emergency operations center, which will then send it to the proper authorities.
The county's EOC will be connected to two identical AT & amp;T backup databases. One is in Akron, and the other in Indianapolis. The EOC actually will send the call to the correct safety forces.
Worker training should begin in June, Emmons said. Dispatchers will be trained for one day, and administrators will be trained for two days.
wilkinson@vindy.com