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If you’re an AT&T Wireless customer, you’re about to receive a potentially life-saving feature on your phone.
The company announced several upgrades to its Next Generation 9-1-1 ESInet emergency communications platform this week, with the most important one coming to your phone. Later this year, AT&T customers will be able to send picture and video messages to 9-1-1.
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Many jurisdictions allow users to text 9-1-1, and some areas support the ability to text photos or videos, yet it can be complex. AT&T says the new feature will allow users to send picture and video messages “just as effortlessly as they text family and friends.”
There is a small caveat: users will only be able to text 9-1-1 if the system utilizes AT&T’s ESInet. According to an AT&T rep, contracted deployments for that system currently reach into 18 states, including Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and Washington, D.C.
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Apple devices have a similar capability to share live video during an Emergency SOS call.
What is AT&T ESInet?
AT&T introduced its ESInet Next-Gen 9-1-1 emergency communications platform in 2018 as a replacement for traditional analog connections.
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This platform provides more reliable emergency call handling, especially in widespread emergencies, and automatically routes calls based on the caller’s location.
The expanded photo and video capability comes alongside several other upgrades to AT&T’s emergency network, including the ability for certain connected cars (currently select vehicles in the 2026 Toyota lineup) to send crash data to first responders and the ability for emergency workers to access public safety data from dedicated, private internet connections, hopefully reducing cyberthreats.
AT&T says these new capabilities will be available to existing and new ESInet customers starting in October.