EDMONTON – Alberta cellphone users will soon be paying a monthly levy of $0.44 to help fund the province’s 911 call centres following legislature’s passing of the Emergency 911 Act’s third reading earlier this week.
Once the act is proclaimed into law later this year, the monthly fee will be charged to any active cell phone. The $0.44 levy is the same amount that is charged to land lines, and will provide a new source of funding for Alberta’s call centres starting in 2014.
The government says it will work with stakeholders to create province-wide standards processes and procedures for 911 call taking to ensure more consistent service. The Emergency 911 act also outlines better legal protection for 911 operators, as proposes fines of up to $10,000 for individuals making a frivolous 911 call that deliberately abuses the service.
The new funding will also help support the introduction of new technology at Alberta’s 22 call centres, such as using GPS to locate a 911 caller, or texting to help speech or hearing impaired callers contact 911.
Greg Weadick, Alberta's associate minister of municipal affairs, told the Calgary Herald that the new cellphone charge is urgently needed to ensure resources are in place for the emergency call centres. “As we’ve seen land lines reduced in number, it’s really severely limiting the ability of 911 to answer the increasing number of calls,” Weadick said Tuesday.
Wireless providers will retain seven cents of the levy to fund their administration costs.
