112 (emergency telephone number)

112 (emergency telephone number)

112 is the common emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from most mobile telephones and, in some countries, fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services (ambulance, fire and rescue, police).

112 is a part of the GSM standard and all GSM-compatible telephone handsets are able to dial 112 even when locked or with no SIM card present. It is also the common emergency number in all member states of the European Union as well as several other countries of Europe and the world. 112 often available alongside other numbers traditionally used in the given country to access emergency services. In some countries, calls to 112 are not connected directly but forwarded by the GSM network to local emergency numbers (e.g., 911 in North America or 000 in Australia).

112 is not always supported by VoIP operators or on non-GSM networks.

Origins

A "cocaine alert sign" posted by GGD Amsterdam: the sign reminds people to "Call 112 for an ambulance!"

112 was first standardised by a Recommendation by the CEPT in 1972 and later by a decision of the EU Council in 1991 and subsequently reaffirmed in 2002 by article 26 of the Universal Service Directive and its subsequent amendments.

This choice of number has the following advantages:

• Different digits: with the numeric keypads used universally today, using at least two different digits instead of the same digit repeatedly significantly reduces the risk of accidental calls. Young children, vibrations, defective keys and collisions with other objects are much more likely to press the same key repeatedly than a particular sequence of different keys, particularly with a button-operated keypad. Accidental calls to emergency centres from mobile phones, which can dial emergency numbers even with locked keypad, are a particular problem with same-digit numbers, such as the UK's 999.
• Low digits: in the days of rotary dial telephones, using only those digits that require the least dial rotation (1 and 2) permitted a dial lock in hole 3 to effectively disable unauthorised access to the telephone network without preventing access to the emergency number 112. The same choice also maximised dialling speed. Additionally, telephone systems used pulse dialling instead of later DTMF tones; briefly activating the hook once has the same effect as dialling "1", so repeatedly pushing the hook might result in calling 1-1-1. For this reason, Germany's police emergency number was changed from 111 to 110. With numeric keypads, pressing only the first and second button on the keypad is marginally easier in a difficult situation than other keys.

Implementation

The countries which use the 112 number for emergencies include:

• Albania (alongside 129 for Police, 127 for Ambulance and 128 for Fire)
• Andorra (Ambulance and Fire, alongside 118 for same services and 110 for Police)
• Austria (Police only; alongside 122 for Fire, 133 for Police, and 144 for Ambulance; 059 133 is the non-emergency number for any local police department)
• Azerbaijan (alongside 102 for Police, 101 for Fire and 103 for Ambulance)
• Belarus (Fire only; alongside 101 for Fire, 102 for Police, and 103 for Ambulance)
• Belgium (Ambulance and Fire; alongside 100 for same services and 101 for Police)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (alongside 122 for Police, 123 for Fire and 124 for Ambulance)
• Brazil (alongside 193 for Fire, 190 for Police, and 192 for Ambulance)
• Bulgaria
• Canada (redirects to 911 on mobile phones)
• Colombia (Police only; alongside 123 for all emergencies, 125 for Ambulance and 119 for Fire)
• Costa Rica (alongside 911)
• Croatia (alongside 192 for Police, 193 for Fire, 194 for Ambulance and 195 for Maritime search and rescue)
• Cyprus (alongside 199)
• Czech Republic (alongside 155 for Ambulance, 158 for Police and 150 for Fire)
• Denmark (including Greenland, Faroe Islands). (114 for nearest police station)
• Dominican Republic (alongside 911)
• East Timor
• Egypt (alongside 122 for Police, 123 for Amulance and 180 for Fire)
• Estonia
• Finland (including Åland)
• France (alongside 15 for Ambulance, 17 for Police and 18 for Fire)
• Germany (alongside 110 for Police)
• Gibraltar (alongside 190 for Fire and Ambulance and 199 for Police)
• Georgia
• Greece (alongside 100 for the police, 108 for port police, 166 for Ambulance and 199 for the fire service)
• Hong Kong (Redirects to 999 on mobile phones)
• Hungary (alongside 104 for Ambulance, 105 for Fire and 107 for Police)
• Iceland
• India (Police only; alongside 100 for Police, 101 for Fire and 102 for Ambulance) [citation?]
• Indonesia (Mobile phones - Police only; alongside 110 for Police, 118 for Ambulance and 113 for Fire)
• Iran (Redirects to 110 on mobile phones; alongside 110 for Police, 115 for Ambulance and 125 for Fire)
• Ireland (alongside 999)
• Italy (Carabinieri only; alongside 113 for National Police, 115 for Fire and 118 for Ambulance)
• Jordan (alongside 911)
• Kazakhstan (alongside 101 for Fire, 102 for Police and 103 for Ambulance)
• Kosovo (alongside 192 for Police, 193 for Fire and 194 for Ambulance)
• Kuwait
• Latvia (alongside 110 for Police, 113 for Ambulance and 114 for Emergency gas service)
• Lebanon (Police only; alongside 160 for Police, 140 for Ambulance and 175 for Fire)
• Liechtenstein (Police only; alongside 117 for Police, 144 for Ambulance and 118 for Fire)
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg (alongside 113 for Police)
• Macau (alongside 999)
• Macedonia (alongside 192 for Police, 193 for Fire, 194 for Ambulance)
• Malta
• Malaysia (Redirects to 999 on mobile phones)
• Mauritius (Police only; alongside 114 for Ambulance and 115 for Fire)
• Moldova (Redirects to 902 on mobile phones; alongside 901 for Fire, 902 for Police and 903 for Ambulance)
• Monaco (alongside 15 for Ambulance, 17 for Police and 18 for Fire)
• Montenegro (alongside 122 for Police, 123 for Fire and 124 for Ambulance)
• Nepal (Police only; alongside 100 for Police, 101 for Fire and 102 for Ambulance)
• Netherlands (0900-8844 is the non-emergency number for any local police department)
• New Zealand (redirects to 111)
• Norway (Police only, 110 for Fire and 113 for Ambulance. 02800 is the non-emergency number for any local police department)
• Panama (alongside 911; 104 for Police and 103 for Fire)
• Poland (alongside 999 for Ambulance, 998 for Fire, and 997 for Police)
• Portugal (117 for reporting forest fires)
• Romania
• Russia (alongside 101 for Fire, 102 for Police, 103 for Ambulance and 104 for Emergency gas service)
• Rwanda (Police and fire brigade; 912 for Ambulance)
• San Marino (Carabinieri only; alongside 113 for National Police, 115 for Fire and 118 for Ambulance)
• Saudi Arabia (alongside 999 for Police, 998 for Fire and 997 for Ambulance)
• Serbia (alongside 192 for Police, 193 for Fire, and 194 for Ambulance)
• Senegal (alongside 17 for Police, 18 for Fire, and 15 for Ambulance)
• Slovakia (alongside 155 for Ambulance, 158 for Police and 150 for Fire)
• Slovenia (alongside 113 for Police)
• South Korea (Police only; alongside 119 for Ambulance and Fire)
• Spain (alongside 091 for Police, 061 for Ambulance and 080 for Fire)
• Sri Lanka (Police only; alongside 119 for Police and 110 for Ambulance and Fire)
• Sweden
• Switzerland (alongside 117 for Police, 144 for Ambulance and 118 for Fire)
• Syria (Police only; alongside 110 for Ambulance and 113 for Fire)
• Turkey (Applied in 2 provinces, in the remaining 79 provinces 112 used for ambulance only; a pilot project is under way for all emergency calls.; alongside 110 for Fire and 155 for Police)
• Ukraine (alongside 101 for Fire, 102 for Police, 103 for Ambulance and 104 for Emergency gas service)
• United Arab Emirates (alongside 999 for Police, 998 for Ambulance and 997 for Fire)
• United Kingdom (alongside 999)
• United States (only with some carriers, including AT&T, who map the number 112 to the emergency number 911)
• Vanuatu
• Vatican City (Gendarmerie only; alongside 113 for National Police, 115 for Fire and 118 for Ambulance)

In many countries, emergency numbers previously used also continue to be available; e.g. 061 and 112 in Spain, 999 and 112 both function in the UK. In the United States, only some carriers, including AT&T will map the number 112 to its emergency number 9-1-1.

Adoption

112 is managed and financed in the European Union by each Member State (country) which also decide on the organization of the emergency call centres. The number is also adopted in the candidates for EU accession and members of the EEA agreement.

The International Telecommunications Union recommends that member states that are selecting a primary or secondary emergency number choose either 911, 112 or both. 112 is one of two numbers (the other being the region's own emergency number) that can be dialed on most GSM phones even if the phone is locked.

E112

E112 is a location-enhanced version of 112. The telecom operator transmits the location information to the emergency centre. The EU Directive E112 (2003) requires mobile phone networks to provide emergency services with whatever information they have about the location a mobile call was made. This directive is based on the FCC's Enhanced 911 ruling in 2001.

The new eCall project for automated emergency calls from cars is based on E1000.

Next Generation 112 (NG112)

NG112 is defined by two major aspects:

• Interoperability between emergency services: NG112 enables the several Public Safety Answering Points to be part of a common emergency service IP-network, providing them with redundancy and interoperability features. This network should support data and communications needs for coordinated incident management between PSAPs and provide a reliable and secure environment for emergency communications.
• Communication between citizens and emergency services: NG112 is designed to enable citizens to reach an authority (e.g., PSAP) by calls using VoIP, text messaging, instant messaging, real-time text, pictures and videos. It could also provide emergency services with more data such as telematics and health data. NG112 enables the delivery of calls, messages and data to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and other appropriate emergency entities and makes call handling easier.

European 112 Day

Since 2009 and a tripartite convention signed by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, 11 February (11/2) is the European 112 Day. At this occasion, events take place to promote the existence and the appropriate use of the EU emergency number.

Expert Group on Emergency Access (EGEA)

Getting 112 to work across the EU is a complex task. It requires in particular coordination between civil protection administrations (the emergency authorities who handle the call) and electronic communications administrations (who have to make sure that a 112 call reaches the emergency operator). That is why the Commission decided to act at European level and set up the Expert Group on Emergency Access (EGEA) at the end of 2005.

The objective of the group is to deal with practical issues Member States are facing to provide an efficient and effective 112 service to citizens. This group seeks practical solutions to problems experienced by the emergency services at local, regional or national levels and deals with issues related to the application of new technologies for communication with emergency services.

The European Commission decided that EGEA would not renewed for the year 2014. The European Commission noted that in case the work by the working group would appear necessary during the course of this period, this work would be fully covered and dealt with during regular Communication Committee (COCOM) meetings, or if needed, the composition of any of these groups could be called for a dedicated meeting back to back with a regular COCOM meeting.

European Emergency Number Association

EENA, the European Emergency Number Association, is a Brussels-based NGO set up in 1999 dedicated to promoting high-quality emergency services reached by the number 112 throughout the EU. EENA serves as a discussion platform for emergency services, public authorities, decision makers, researchers, international associations and solution providers in view of improving emergency response in accordance with citizens' requirements. EENA is also promoting the establishment of an efficient system for alerting citizens about imminent or developing emergencies.

In October 2015, the EENA memberships include over 1100 emergency services representatives from more than 80 countries world-wide, 75 solution providers, more than 90 researchers, 15 international associations/organisations as well as over 190 Members of the European Parliament.

EENA is a registered organisation in the Transparency registry of the European Union.

See also

• Emergency phone number
• eCall
• Emergency telephone
• In case of emergency (ICE) entry in the mobile phone book
• International Mobile Satellite Organization
• Single Non-Emergency Number

External links

• The European Emergency Number Association 112 (EENA)