SMS tends to be more reliable than a data connection in areas with a poor connection (remote, or interference).
This is doable right now - having some sort of data-to-emergencyservices gateway does not exist.
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/why-bother-with-what-three-...
Also, in many cases a phone is not able to use (or has limited use) of data during a phone call. An sms would be able to go through concurrently. Imagine being on a 911 call. They ask you to click the W3W button (built in? Next to other on-call buttons?) and read out the response.
Not a w3w shill - but I think there's a use case for the emergency system that uses sms and it is usable right now and doesn't require any system wide upgrades. The only potential upgrade would be at the OS level just to simplify (button addition).
The ideal would be having the DB of W3w words locally so that it doesn't need the SMS gateway. Or having a completely open system...