Legislation plans extra cellphone fee for 911 service
EDMONTON — Legislation which would see cellphone users in Alberta paying more on their monthly bills for 911 calls is expected to be introduced in the legislature next year.
Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths says he’s considering a bill that would add 44 cents per month to the bills.
The same charge is currently applied to land lines, but Griffiths says those phones are in decline while cellphone numbers are rising.
The minister also says the legislation would address problems with cellphone calls accidentally made to the 911 service.
It’s estimated that one in 10 emergency calls are made in error, and it can take two to three minutes to confirm they were made inadvertently.
It’s expected the bill will be introduced next spring.
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