Hillicon Valley reported that Verizon is developing a text to 911 feature.  Very cool.  Could be useful in situations where placing a voice call is impractical or dangerous.  Additionally, the article notes that:

It could be of particular use to deaf and hard of hearing consumers, who have been shown to be rapid adopters of smartphones for their text-messaging capabilities.

Great point.  It should roll out “during the early part of next year in select areas using its existing mobile network.”