911 dials IP technology

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providers meet the FCC requirements to work with the old system, it says a better solution would be for the emergency networks to start using IP. NENA is already developing new standards and best practices for building these IP-based networks.

"The consensus is that IP enabled networks is where the future is going," said Robert Martin, executive director of NENA. "But we can't just turn on a new network and expect that everyone will be on the same page. The old infrastructure is going to be around for some time."

The IP technology needed to transform old 911 networks into next-generation networks is already available. But politics and squabbling over how to fund such a project will likely delay any wide-scale deployments, say the experts.

"The money is available to get this project rolling today," Martin said. "The real issue is how politicians choose to prioritize the spending."

Typically, emergency communications networks are controlled and funded by local governments. This system of funding has inevitably left some sparsely populated rural communities with fewer dollars to spend. As a result, there are still some counties in the United States that don't have access to full 911 services. According to NENA, out of a total of 3,100 U.S. counties, about 225 don't have access to enhanced 911 services, which provide location information for callers. And about 121 counties don't have access to even basic 911.

And even though Congress passed the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (911 Act), which was supposed to encourage and facilitate prompt deployment of seamless communications infrastructure for emergency services, only about 44 percent of the counties are able to provide location and call back number information when a 911 call comes from a cellular phone, according to NENA.

Jones believes that IP technology could actually help these communities become compliant much faster and much more inexpensively than if they deployed older technology, since an IP infrastructure would allow them to share resources with other agencies.

For example, in a rural area a sheriff's department may already have a data network set up that hooks into the state's database that looks up criminal data and car registration information. The same data infrastructure used for law enforcement could also be used to handle emergency 911 calls.

The Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, which manages PSAPs for the seven counties surrounding the St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., region, is studying the possibility of using one IP network to link all its 26 PSAPs. Pete Eggimann, director of 911 services for the group, plans to use findings from the study to persuade other local and state agencies to cooperate with a plan to converge all the emergency systems for his region onto a single IP network. But he's already anticipating that he and others lobbying for this change may face some resistance.

"I think some people will buy into it at a conceptual level," Eggimann said. "But the bigger challenge will be figuring out how to fund it. There are so many different state and county agencies involved, with so many different budgets."

Though PSAPs are run by local authorities, the federal government has promised funds to help upgrade networks. In 2004, Congress authorized $250 million per year in federal grants over five years to help fund upgrades to 911 networks. Jones of NENA estimates that upgrading PSAPs in all 3,100 counties throughout the country would cost between $3 billion and $6 billion.

But even though the money has been authorized, not one nickel has actually been allocated to local governments. Congress also established a national policy office to help coordinate emergency communications efforts, but so far that hasn't been funded either. Some informal work has gone on, but there's no paid staff working on the issues, Jones said.

Even with the promise of federal money, Eggimann said, his agency isn't going to wait. "Federal funding would be nice," he said. "But it's unpredictable. Public safety is a local issue, and we're moving forward on our own."

voip 911

Level 3 is in advanced discussion to get the contract

Michel

[wbenton]

This is a NO BRAINER!!!

With the proper funding... anybody can do just about anything... (* LOL *)

That said... where is the news-worthyness of this article?

Walt

[mpteach]

You dont have to be a genius to figure this one out

First the Department of Homeland Security should set some some network standards so that counties can be added to a national network as soon as they upgrade their 911 to IP. Some deadlines for upgrading and funds to do it wouldnt hurt either.

Secondly the DHS should set up several regional control centers that reroute trafic between and coordinate the localy run 911 centers during massive emergencies.