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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Susie Mesure

How 999 crews find you – the life and death importance of location data

Ambulance moving at night
The unique capabilities of OS have increased the performance and accuracy of frontline emergency services. Photograph: mediaphotos/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Pinpointing a person’s location can be a matter of life and death. No wonder it has long been a focus for human ingenuity and technology – from smoke signals and SOS distress codes, to emergency services’ dispatch systems and modern-day geolocation apps.

Robust location data is especially crucial when time is of the essence. Paramedics and other emergency services often need to drive at high speed under immense pressure to reach a destination, so it’s essential that they can put complete trust in the accuracy of their location data.

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