What is enhanced 911 service?

When you dial 911 from your Virgin Mobile phone, your call is sent to the emergency operator in your area.

Phase One of enhanced 911 service (e911) provides 911 emergency operators with your mobile phone number, area code and approximate location information. The operator will know the location of the cellular tower handling your call, which is helpful if your call is disconnected for any reason. Phase One of enhanced 911 service is currently available in most areas with 911 service.

Phase Two of e911 service allows for 911 emergency operators to locate you even more precisely with your mobile phone. Virgin Mobile has been able to route calls with e911 Phase Two information since February 2010.

e911 Phase Two service is available in most Virgin Mobile coverage areas in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, but may not be available in certain areas if the local emergency operators are not ready to receive your e911 Phase Two call information.

See our coverage map to find out where the Virgin Mobile network is available and check your local telephone book for emergency services telephone numbers. You can also contact local emergency operators to find out about the availability of 911 services in your area but don’t dial 911 for this info!

Heads Up! Here are some important things to know about using 911 services with your Virgin Mobile phone:

• 911 emergency operators are provided by local emergency service providers and their availability may vary by region. Where no 911 call centre exists, you may need to dial alternate numbers to directly reach local police, fire and/or ambulance services.
• Of course, like all calls from mobile phones, 911 calls are affected by your location. For example, if you’re underground or in an area with a weak signal, your 911 call could be affected so it’s always important to give the emergency operator your name, mobile phone number (with area code) and your location.
• Some 911 services may not work if you bought your phone from a different company other than Virgin Mobile Canada or one of our authorized retailers, and now use it with a Virgin Mobile Canada SIM card.
• If you’ve hooked up a device that can’t be used to make voice calls (like a data-only Mobile Internet stick), then you can’t be connected to 911 with that device.
• You can only use 911 for emergency voice calls. Text messaging to 911 isn’t supported and won’t connect you with a 911 emergency operator or emergency services.
• Don’t ever program 911 in your speed dial. That way you won’t end up making an accidental speed-dialled call to 911.
• When calling 911, always give the emergency operator your name, full mobile phone number, and location in case you’re in an area that doesn’t offer enhanced e911 service.
• Stay on the phone with your emergency operator as long as you need to. With Virgin Mobile there are no per-minute charges to call 911.
• Leave your mobile phone turned on after hanging up in case your emergency operator needs to call you back.

What Does e911 Cost?

As of January 29, 2010, Virgin Mobile Canada started charging members residing in Saskatchewan, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island a regulated provincial tax for the funding of the e911 service in these provinces.

The amount of the provincial e911 tax varies depending on which province you reside in, as set out below.

Heads-up! This is a charge that was created by the governments in these provinces and not by Virgin Mobile. We're required to collect the tax and pass it on to these governments just like provincial sales taxes.