Parish Council - PEG

WiFi Calling

A consequence of living in our rural location is that our mobile signal can be somwhat erratic. The ability to use our mobile phones can be crucial to our ability to call for help in an emergency, as well as to managing day-to-day aspects of our lives.

Most mobile service providers have a facility called WiFi Calling:

• this allows calls and texts to be received and sent, even if you have NO mobile phone signal, providing you are able to connect to a WiFi signal eg in your home, at or near the village pub/hall, or at a friend's home;
• calls/texts are charged at your normal charge package rate, as if you were using the mobile signal;
• your phone will switch back to using the mobile signal automatically, once you move out of range of the WiFi signal.

To start use WiFi Calling all you normally need to do is select the correct Settings on your phone. Just Google "WiFi Calling" plus [your service provider] eg O2, Vodafone and follow the instructions. Your phone will then automatically switch between WiFi Calling and using your mobile signal as required.

Note WiFi Calling is not currently supported by some mobile service providers eg. Giff Gaff, and may not be supported for all phone models - check your mobile service provider's instructions for details.

Notifying your location in an emergency - What3words

In a rural location such as ours, it can be difficult to communicate where you are, or the location of an emergency.

what3words is a Smartphone app, available free on Android and iPhone, that enables you to identify precisely where you are using just 3 words. This locates you to a specific 3 metre square anywhere in the world.

For instance the walnut tree on the village green is located at "roofed.crawler.fruits".

This method is now recognised by our Emergency Services, and so can be used in a 999 call as an easy method of reporting the location of an incident. what3words locations can also be shared using WhatsApp.

For further information visit the what3words website or search for "what3words" on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Creating a shortcut to PEG on your mobile

To save time in an emergency, you can create a shortcut to the PEG WhatsApp group on your phone:

1. open the WhatsApp app on your phone;
2. click on the name of the Priston Emergency (PEG) group - you may have to use Search to find the PEG group
3. click on the "three dots" icon at the top right of the screen
4. click on "More"
5. click on "Add shortcut"
6. click on "Add" to add the shortcut to your Home Screen"
7. Go to your Home Screen and drag the PEG icon to your desired location.

Registering for the 999 text service

If you are able to make a voice call to 999 this is much the best option. However, you might want to send an SMS text message to 999 in the following circumstances:

• if you have impaired hearing;
• if you are in an area with poor bad signal, and am unable to make a voice-call - a text message might work as it requires less band-width;
• if you do not wish to alert an intruder to the fact you are calling 999.

To send an SMS text message to 999, you need to register your phone for the 999 text service beforehand. It is obviously a good idea to do this before any emergency! To register:

1. text the word "Register" - without quotes - to 999;
2. wait for a response - this may take a couple of minutes - this asks you to confirm your registration;
3. send the word "Yes" - without quotes - to 999
4. you will then receive a text message confirming your phone has been registered;
5. Do NOT send any further messages/replies to 999 unless there is an emergency!

If you later need to send an emergency text message, make sure you include the following information

• Which service do you require: Ambulance, Coastguard, Fire Rescue, or Police
• Nature of the problem: no. of people involved, type of injury etc
• Your location: a precise address, or you can use a What3words location