I got the email below, and i am skeptical about this (mainly because i know a GSM phone cant talk to satellites)...

anyone else get this or hear of it?

[quote]> If your mobile phone has no signal (so even if you were in a tunnel)

> if you dial 112 it diverts to a satellite signal and puts you through

> to the 999 call centre.

> ALL phone companies have signed up and as it is a satellite service it


> also gives them a trace to you if you don't know where you are.[/quote]

just seems to far fetched to be true...

That works here in ireland too. If you have your phone locked its the only number (except 999) that you can dial without unlocking the phone. I dont know anything about the satellite though. But it might be just from triangulation of three masts. I rang the number once and they put me through to the nearest police station.

Sean

112 is the standardised European emergency call number, so when you are travelling through Europe you can dial that number instead of having to know the local emergency number, ie 110 for the police in Germany...

It works in the UK as well as 999

I think the part about using a satellite signal is bollocks though, as satellite phones have a much larger footprint, and are much more expensive, as Sean says above they can triangulate your position from the cells that you are logged in to...

Satellites still require "line of sight" to communicate so it's hard to figure how you'll get a signal in a tunnel. A short tunnel maybe but not halfway under the Alps

This is a hoax e-mail

Following quote from transport for london website


London Underground Press release: 27 July 2005

Misleading e-mail

A misleading spam e-mail has been widely circulated which claims that by dialling 112 you can get through to 999 even without having an available signal on your mobile phone - this is completely untrue.

A London Underground spokesperson said:

"This e-mail is incorrect. The 112 number does link people through to 999, but it only works if you have a signal on your mobile phone. If you have no signal bars on your phone, it will not work.

"It will not divert to a satellite signal.

"Even with a satellite mobile phone (which very few people have), you would need to have a clear line-of-sight to the satellite. You would have to be outside, not in a building or a tube tunnel.

"The 112 number is the European equivalent of 999.