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Not monitored for emergencies. Call 911.

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How Your 911 Call Connects

When you call 911, a dispatcher in your county answers. SPAG looks after what is behind that call: the network that carries it and the map that shows where you are.

What do you need?

Texto al 911 (en español)

How it works

What you see

  1. You call or text 911

    Cell phone, landline, or internet phone.

    Behind it: SPAG

    Private 911 network

    Carries your call to the 911 center for where you are.

    Wireless backup if fiber is cut

  2. Your county’s dispatcher answers

    A local 911 center takes your call. SPAG does not answer 911 calls.

    Behind it: SPAG

    SPAG’s 911 map

    Shows the dispatcher where you’re calling from.

  3. Help is sent

    Police, fire, or an ambulance heads to your address.

    Behind it: SPAG

    911 addresses

    The addresses SPAG assigns guide responders to your door.

Why is there a 911 fee on my phone bill?

Texas charges a small 911 fee on landlines, cell phones, and internet phones. That money pays for 911 across the state: the equipment in each 911 center, the network that carries your call, and the maps that show dispatchers where you are. In SPAG’s 14 counties, it reaches the Regional 911 program through the state’s 911 agency, the Commission on State Emergency Communications.

911 fee rates from the Texas Comptroller (opens in a new tab)

A year in the South Plains

  1. Every year

    52,000+ 911 calls

    Dispatchers across the 14 counties answer every one: fires, crashes, heart attacks, and the calls nobody else would take.

  2. Every day

    About 140 calls a day

    That is about one call every 10 minutes, day and night, on weekends and holidays too.

  3. When you can’t call

    1,200+ texts a year

    Text‑to‑911 works in all 14 counties, for people who can’t hear or speak on a call and for anyone it isn’t safe to call from.

    How to text 911

  4. One network

    14 counties, 12 local 911 centers

    Each center answers for its own county. SPAG keeps the network between them running, with a backup connection if a line is cut.

    Who answers in your county

  5. Where to send help

    Every call needs an address

    Help goes to the spot the 911 map shows. SPAG GIS keeps that map and assigns 911 addresses out in the country, beyond city limits.

    Request a 911 address

Illustration at the real average pace, not live data. Figures: SPAG Public Safety, per year (four times the quarterly totals). Daily figures are worked out and rounded.