A northeast Iowa county has begun implementing technology that will make its 911 call center the first in the nation to accept text messages, officials said Tuesday.

The service is currently in test mode, but Black Hawk County officials say their plan is to go live with the service as early as July.

The technology is designed to allow people with speech and hearing impediments to text 911, and for the emergency operator to communicate back by texting.

Texting to 911 also will be available for anyone in an emergency where a phone call isn’t possible, but officials say voice calls will still be the best way to contact emergency operators.

A number of communications companies worked together to develop the technology to speed up a process that can be painfully slow for people with sensory disabilities.

For example, a deaf person calling 911 often must first be connected with someone with hearing, National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes said. Then the deaf person uses a keyboard to create a message that is sent through a relay center to the person answering the call. Text messaging cuts out a step by connecting the deaf and hearing people directly, Fontes said.

“It’s probably a more efficient way, in a texting environment, to communicate with a 911 call center,” he said.