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Defence Industry and Space

Caller location for emergency communications

Caller location is one of the most important contextual data that is provided automatically to emergency services when an emergency communication is initiated by a citizen.

What is AML ?

How does AML work?

It is a smartphone functionality that is automatically triggered when a call to an emergency number such as 112 is placed.

AML is not an app and there is no need to install anything by the user. If GNSS or Wi-Fi is not enabled, AML will turn it on and it will turn it back off after the call is finished. Once the location of the person calling is established, it is sent by an SMS or HTTPS message to the public-safety answering point (PSAP).

AML does not replace the existing provision of network-based location (Cell-ID) by mobile network operators, but simply provides additional and more accurate location information where technically possible (where GNSS or Wi-Fi coverage is available).

Following the HELP 112 pilot, the European Commission funded a subsequent project, focusing on full-scale rollout of AML in several Member States. The HELP 112 II project ran for 18 months and resulted in a successful deployment of AML in Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal and Sweden.

As part of the project, a cost-benefit analysis of the impact of AML deployment in the EU has been carried out. It found that on average AML saves between 14 and 45 seconds per emergency call and improves the location accuracy from 4,6 times up to 17,9 times.

The analysis also estimated that the number of lives impacted by AML (i.e. either when lives are saved or when the seriousness of the injury is mitigated) will range from 5.3 to 18.7 out of every 100,000 relevant calls during the first 9 years after the deployment.