The Department of Public Safety reports on changes to 911 over the years. I just thought it was an interesting look at how 911 has changed over the years, especially for folks who have ubiquitous and reliable cell coverage…
For Mark Lallak, the evolution of 911 is personal. He watched it happen in real time from behind the dispatch console.
When Lallak was working as a 911 telecommunicator in the ’90s, most calls came from landlines. Because the phone numbers were associated with fixed locations, dispatchers had a name and address associated with each phone number. If someone called in, first responders almost always knew where they needed to go.
Then as cell phones emerged, everything changed.
The update happened quickly…
Today, wireless calls are the new norm. In 2025, about 87 percent of 911 calls in Minnesota came from cell phones. People call from cars, boats, trails and countless other places where emergencies happen. It’s much easier to call 911 today than ever before — and that flexibility is a good thing. But it also created new challenges for dispatchers and first responders.
In the early days of cell phone calls to 911, dispatch centers often had to rely on cell tower triangulation to estimate a caller’s location. Dispatchers can’t identify someone based on a cell phone number like they could with landlines. If a caller could not speak, hung up or lost connection, responders might have to search a broad area, often as big as a square mile or more. …
“Nowadays, when a caller dials 911, the latitude and longitude coordinates from their cell phone are usually shared with the system,” Carlson said. “That information can help responders get to the right place faster.”
While this process works better today than before, there is room for improvement. In some parts of greater Minnesota, calls may still be routed based on cell tower triangulation instead of a caller’s GPS coordinates. That can lead to delays or extra transfers, especially near county borders.
ECN is working to improve the 911 system through Next Generation 911, or NG911. The current network in Minnesota has been in place since 1982 and relies on outdated copper telecommunication lines. In partnership with telecom service providers across the state, ECN is upgrading the network to fiber optic cable. The upgraded system will allow callers to text photos and videos and even share data from unexpected sources like smartwatches and vehicles.
