ELEVEN YEARS OF 911 UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER IMPLEMENTATION HAVE RESULTED IN ONLY LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ALTHOUGH IT IS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL IN WELL-MANAGED SYSTEMS. FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION, ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS, DEPENDS UPON TELEPHONE COMPANY POLICY AND ON THE WILLINGNESS OF COMMUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN JOINT FACILITIES OR TO INVEST IN EXPENSIVE TECHNOLOGY TO AUTOMATICALLY ROUTE SERVICE REQUESTS TO THE PROPER JURISDICTION. POLITICAL DECISIONS REGARDING TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION WILL PLAY A CRITICAL PART IN FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION. THEREFORE, COORDINATION IS MORE LIKELY TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH SELECTIVE ROUTING OF 911 CALLS; POLITICAL SENSITIVITIES CONCERNING LOCAL AUTONOMY WILL BE PRESERVED, AND THE COMMUNITY ITSELF CAN DECIDE WHETHER THE ACTUAL DISPATCHING OF EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE CAN TAKE PLACE LOCALLY, AT A REGIONAL COORDINATION FACILITY, OR BOTH. UNFORTUNATELY, THE APPEAL OF SELECTIVE ROUTING AS A MEANS OF PRESERVING LOCAL AUTONOMY MAY DISCOURAGE EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT 911 SERVICE THROUGH THE SHARED FACILITY APPROACH. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE ONLY FIVE SELECTIVELY ROUTED 911 SYSTEMS IN THE U.S., WHICH MAKES COST ANALYSIS OF SELECTIVELY ROUTED 911 SYSTEMS DIFFICULT. HOWEVER, THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (MTIA) AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES ARE ENCOURAGING BOTH COOPERATIVE EFFORTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE SELECTIVE ROUTING CAPABILITY FOR 911 SERVICES. THE ADVANTAGES OF THE 911 EMERGENCY NUMBER OVER TRADITIONAL SEVEN-DIGIT NUMBERS ARE NUMEROUS, INCLUDING THE REPORTING OF MANY MORE EMERGENCIES. FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DEG)