Ofcom: Emergency SMS service should be mandatory

Network operators should be forced to offer a free SMS text service to emergency numbers, according to industry regulator Ofcom.

The scheme would be an extension of the current Emergency SMS service, which has been on trial for the last year.

The trial has so far attracted 14,500 registered users and is predominately used by visually impaired and hard-of-hearing mobile phone users.

Ofcom’s recommendation is to make sure that the UK complies with new European regulations due to come into effect on 25 May 2011.

The regulations state that ‘access to the emergency services for disabled people must be as close to that delivered to other consumers as the technology will allow.’

Ofcom says that while the Emergency SMS scheme has limitations, ‘it offers greater equivalence than current alternatives.’

Are you already a user of the Emergency SMS service? Would you find the service useful? Let us know in the comments below.