Persons in the U.S. will soon be able to send text messages to 911 for urgent assistance.

A ruling issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires all mobile service providers should make texting 911 a possibility.

FCC said doing this will help save lives and will also provide immediate assistance to those who are deaf or have speech disabilities.

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The new FCC regulation applies to all wireless mobile carriers (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T) and also to interconnected text messaging providers that allow users to send text messages to and from U.S. phone numbers.

The vote requires U.S. mobile carriers and some texting apps to put emergency text-to-911 functionality in place by the end of this year.

On the other hand, the rules are not applicable to online messaging apps that only support communications among users of games or social media application.

FCC said the plan of sending text messages to 911 will not replace calling 911 but will complement the existing service.

It also said its plan will make text-to-911 more uniformly available and will keep pace with the communication style of Americans today.

"More than one hundred 911 call centers serving portions of 16 states and two entire states (Vermont and Maine) are now accepting emergency texts, and there are already reports of lives saved," said the FCC.

FCC didn't mention if location-based data will be used when tracing text messages.

The U.S.' four largest mobile carriers all added text-to-911 functionality this year. Less than two percent of the nation's 6,800 emergency dispatch centers are ready to receive texts, said the FCC.

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