Over 90% of active mobile phones in Romania are equipped with technologies that enable the rapid and more accurate transmission of caller location to the 112 emergency service, according to the first study conducted by ANCOM on the technical capabilities of the terminals operating on Romania’s public mobile networks. As a result, emergency response teams can locate people in distress more quickly.
In emergency situations, reducing the time needed to locate a caller by just a few minutes can make the difference between life and death. The growing number of phones compatible with modern location technologies contributes to faster and more effective emergency response by the specialized intervention agencies.
The study on the evolution of the technical capabilities of mobile terminals used on Romania’s public networks, based on the data reported by mobile network operators pursuant to ANCOM Decision no. 1023/2008 on the implementation of communications to the Single National System for Emergency Calls (SNUAU), as amended in 2024, monitors the adoption of 4G, 5G, VoLTE, GNSS and Advanced Mobile Location (AML) technologies in mobile devices, all of which are relevant to the location of mobile phones used to place calls to the 112 emergency number.
Study findings
The study shows that the number of mobile terminals connected to networks in Romania that support more accurate caller location for the 112 emergency service is already high level and continues to grow.
Thus, at the end of 2025:
- more than 90% of active mobile phones supported 4G, VoLTE and GNSS technologies;
- almost 50% were compatible with 5G;
- almost 90% featured AML functionality.
GNSS and AML enable more accurate determination of the caller’s position, while VoLTE speeds up the transmission of location information to emergency services.
The full study is available, in Romanian, here.
ANCOM’s role in ensuring emergency communications
ANCOM establishes the technical and economic conditions governing communications to the Single National System for Emergency Calls (SNUAU), as well as the technical requirements for transmitting caller identification and location information.
Monitoring the evolution of mobile terminals helps to ensure optimal technical conditions for the transmission of emergency caller location information. Since 2024, providers of public mobile electronic communications networks submit statistical data to ANCOM twice a year on the devices connected to the networks and their capabilities, such as the operating system and VoLTE, 4G, 5G and GNSS capabilities.