https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

content


Texas trial shows that next-gen 911 texting platform ‘flat out works’

Texas trial shows that next-gen 911 texting platform ‘flat out works’

Five PSAPs in Harris County were able to receive 911 text messages from any SMS-enabled device from four wireless carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon — during an April trial that used Cassidian Communications’ Vesta next-generation 911 (NG-911) call-processing platform
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 20th June 2011

MINNEAPOLIS — Five public-safety answering points (PSAPs) in Harris County, Texas, were able to receive 911 text messages from any SMS-enabled device from four wireless carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon — during an April trial that used Cassidian Communications’ Vesta next-generation 911 (NG-911) call-processing platform, the company announced today during the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) convention.

The five PSAPs are part of the Greater Harris County 911 Emergency Network (GHC 911), which consists of 50 PSAPs that serve 49 cities, including Houston. The network handles more than 10,000 calls per day, roughly three-quarters of which are from wireless phones. In addition, GHC 911 provides dispatching services to more than 150 police, fire and EMS agencies in the area.

Almost two years ago, a system deployed in Black Hawk County, Iowa, became the first in the United States to successfully handle a 911 text. But that event involved only one PSAP — the Black Hawk Consolidated Public Safety Communications Center — and only one wireless carrier. In that context, the fact that the GHC 911 trial involved multiple PSAPs and wireless carriers is particularly noteworthy, said Tami Timperio, Cassidian’s vice president of marketing.

Also noteworthy is that the trial took into account the county’s vast and widely diverse geography, which includes Houston — the nation’s fourth largest city — and a great expanse of rural terrain, according to Timperio.

“Technicians were sent out to very rural areas, as well as outside their jurisdiction, to ensure that the technology worked,” Timperio said. “Stan [Heffernan, GHC 911’s chief operating officer] said — in his own vernacular, since he comes from Texas — that it ‘just flat out worked.’ They’re very excited about it.”

Timperio said several significant operational and implementation procedures remain to be executed before the capability is rolled out system-wide — “I want to stress that this is just a trial,” she said — but added that the service is expected to be available to the deaf and hearing-impaired community by the end of this year, as a replacement for TTY service. Rollout to the general population is expected to follow in the second half of 2012, but no later than the first half of 2013, Timperio said.

In other news, Cassidian is demonstrating during the NENA convention several “forward-looking” concepts, according to Timperio.

“These are things like call-handling through CAD, which is not done today, notifications integrated with mapping … and an integrated application approach for the future of call-taking based on i3,” NENA’s recently approved standards that provide key technical guidelines for implementing IP-based next-generation 911 systems, she said.

Timperio said that, in the past year, a sea of change in the thinking in the 911 sector has occurred regarding next-generation architectures.

“We heard from our strategic advisory council in May, and it was interesting,” she said. “A year ago, they were still on the fence, wondering whether they really needed IP. This year, we are hearing very loud and clear that IP is the way forward, and they need it now.”

Finally, Cassidian recently completed a comprehensive test of a Vesta DMS system being deployed in the New York City Police Department’s new emergency communications center to replace a legacy ISDN system.

“It lasted 30 days of six times their peak call volume per hour,” Timperio said. “It was volumes never seen, ever.”

According to Timperio, the center is scheduled to go live in the fall. When it does, it will feature 1,400 call-taking and dispatcher positions and will consolidate all of the city’s 911 functions in one center. Previously, each of the five boroughs had its own 911 center. “It dwarfs anything in the U.S., perhaps worldwide,” Timperio said.

To put this into context, Los Angeles has about 150 positions and Chicago a couple of hundred, she added.

“I visited the [New York] center in May, and it’s a sight,” Timperio said. “It’s a football field in length and a sea of positions.”

A second center will be built for redundancy purposes and is slated to open in the 2013–2014 timeframe. Meanwhile, the NYPD will maintain one backup center, while the city’s fire department, which cut over to the Vesta DMS platform in fall 2009, will maintain two such centers.

Tags: PSAP content Public Safety

Most Recent


  • Panel at SBC event examines significant economic, policy challenges facing in-building communications
    Ensuring that public safety can communicate while responding to emergencies inside buildings is a clear need, but identifying the proper solutions and making them affordable to building owners is a significant challenge, according to panelists exploring the topic during a recent Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC) event. Mike Baltrotsky, assistant chief and technology manager for Montgomery […]
  • Indoor 5G and how to solve it
    We all know the problem: mobile phone service is working fine … until you move indoors. Then, sometimes it works (you don’t notice), sometimes it sort of works (meh) and sometimes it clings on by one tiny bar or drops out entirely (argh). Diagnosing the problem is relatively simple. The loss of mobile service indoors […]
  • Honeywell releases cybersecurity, smart-building tools
    Honeywell has released a series of new tools aimed at improving operational efficiency and sustainability, including an operational technology (OT) cybersecurity tool and a smart building management system. The new cybersecurity tool, Cyber Insights, collects information from multiple OT data sources to identify vulnerabilities and threats.  “Organizations should leverage technology to address worker shortages, while […]
  • Small-cell focus still largely on densification, but private-network opportunity growing
    Some big ambitions for small cells were on display during the annual Small Cell World Summit in London this week. But it’s worth remembering that on the ground, their deployment is still at a relatively early stage. Dean Bubley of Disruptive Analysis, who chaired a panel addressing the issues of value creation and monetization, summarized […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Texas trial shows that next-gen 911 texting platform ‘flat out works’
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public
  • Microsoft patches 6 zero-day vulnerabilities under active attack

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.