911 Calls from Cell Phones Lack Location Data

For directions, for restaurant tips, your location is recorded by your phone no problem.

But in an emergency -- as in an actual police, fire, or medical emergency -- you may be out of luck.

Cell phone networks in California are having difficulty recording and delivering the location of 911 callers, according to the Los Angeles Times

In particular, AT&T and T-Mobile have "seen severe declines" in how often location data is delivered to first responders, the newspaper reported.

In San Francisco, location data was delivered along with a call less than 20 percent of the time, the newspaper reported. The best rate was 49 percent, in Bakersfield.

It "just isn't the case" that dispatchers will know where a wireless caller is when 911 is dialed, according to experts.

It's unclear why this is happening, but other cellular carriers have their location deliveries improving while AT&T's and T-Mobile's are declining, the newspaper reported.

But public safety groups are using the report to pressure the government to push regulation of 911 services.

About 70 percent of all 911 calls now come from cell phones.