Alberta mobile users to pay monthly levy for 911 service

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...