BT Ireland wins €10m emergency call centre contract

Up to 100 jobs are being created at Ireland’s new emergency call-out system which will automatically pinpoint the location of mobile callers, it was revealed today.

The revamped 999 service is designed to cut response times with exact details on the geographic whereabouts of distressed callers using their mobile phones.

Michael Norman, of BT Ireland which won the contract for the new system, said it would allow emergency services to get to the scene in the quickest possible time and could potentially save more lives.

“It is significant to be able to locate a caller in distress,” he said.

“In a real emergency – for example a car accident – many, many people are disorientated. They knew exactly where they were 30 seconds before the crash but after the crash they haven’t a clue where they are.

“They don’t even know what county they’re in sometimes, so the location information is vital.

“It can make a difference of more than just a couple of seconds, it can make a big difference in the time it takes a resource to get to help somebody.”

It is the first time the technology, which is widely used in the rest of Europe, UK and the US, will be used for Garda, fire service, ambulance and Coast Guard call outs in the Republic.

The new system involves a collaboration of the Emergency Calling Answering Service (ECAS), the emergency services and the mobile phone operators.

While the mobile caller is on the telephone, the geographic co-ordinates of their whereabouts will automatically and electronically flash up on the call centre screens.

As well as cutting call-out response times, it has the potential to help locate victims in hostage incidents, it is claimed.

The system will also help detect hoax calls, if information given by a caller contradicts details on the location.

Mr Norman said it can also be very comforting for a caller when the emergency services know their exact location.

BT Ireland said it will be creating up to 100 jobs at Ballyshannon, Co Donegal and Navan, Co Meath after it was awarded a €10m contract for the service.

The two centres, along with a third overflow centre at East Point in Dublin, are expected to handle up to five million emergency calls from the public every year.

The service will be staffed by multi-lingual operators who are able to deal with emergency calls from non-nationals living in Ireland, according to Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, speaking at the jobs announcement in Co Donegal.

The first emergency calls are expected to be handled in the centres, at the Ballyshannon IT Centre, Portnason, and at the IDA business park at Athlumney, Navan, in November.

BT Ireland won the five-year contract from Eircom, which currently operates the existing service and is preparing to hand it over in the coming month.

An Eircom spokesman said there will be no extra jobs lost at the company, which last week announced plans to lay-off 1,200 people in a cost-cutting deal, as a result of the lost contract.