Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - In November 2015, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) issued guidelines to establish 911 as a "harmonized single nationwide number for the provision of emergency services." The goal was to have these three digits direct calls to the caller's local Public Security office by early this year.

Under these guidelines, all existing emergency numbers will be required to migrate to 911. These include 060 for local police, 061 for state and Federal District judicial police, 065 for the Red Cross, 066 for the national system for citizen emergencies, 068 for fire emergencies and 080 for security and emergency calls.

Although the 911 emergency telephone number is already working in Puerto Vallarta, authorities and various government agencies have not yet been instructed to make it a reality in our city.

In an interview with aznoticias.mx, the head of Civil Protection and Fire in Puerto Vallarta, Adrián Bobadilla García, said, "we have been following this issue, but we still have had no indication of when the new system will be fully implemented. We have not been given the date to begin using the system, nor the coverage areas, nor the specialty catalogs that are necessary to train staff and begin the municipality's campaign to inform the public."

He pointed out that this information and instruction will be issued by the IFT. The new emergency number, for both fixed line and mobile telephones, will be managed by the executive secretariat of the National Public Security System, and telecommunications service providers will be required to provide free access to the new emergency number.

"The process is national, by presidential decree, but we do not know whether it will be set into motion gradually, regionally, or on a nationwide basis. Honestly, I asked if the execution dates had been set, but no one seems to know," Adrián Bobadilla said.

When performing a test on Tuesday, February 2, 2016, aznoticias.mx confirmed that the 911 emergency number is already working in Puerto Vallarta. Despite this, the authorities who answered the phone did not know that these three digits direct calls to the offices of Public Security. Thus, it appears that Puerto Vallarta authorities, nor police, nor "call center" workers are aware that the 911 emergency number is already up and running.