Some Tupelo Internet surfers calling 911 instead

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) _ Lee County officials have not determined what is causing some Internet users to dial the E-911 systems when they log on their computers. <br><br>``There's no really good way to

Friday, December 1st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) _ Lee County officials have not determined what is causing some Internet users to dial the E-911 systems when they log on their computers.

``There's no really good way to determine what is causing it,'' said Paul Harkins, the county E-911 director.

He said the problem, ``has been going on for a while.''

``We're getting about four or five a week, sometimes more frequently,'' Harkins said. ``It seems to happen more in the evening when people are logging on to the Internet.''

Harkins said the problem may reside in the phone numbers used in dial-up Internet connections.

``When they're logging on and their modem is trying to connect to their Internet provider there may be a sequence in that number that has the numbers 911 in it.

``It's kind of like when you pick up the phone and don't listen for the dial tone and just start dialing. The first couple of digits might not register. You may dial the first two or three numbers before the dial tone kicks in. If there's a sequence of 911 in the number, depending on when the phone picks up, it dials 911 and then disregards any other numbers,'' Harkins said.

Harkins said his personnel are still logging the calls and trying to find a pattern and a cause.