https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • 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
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • 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
  • 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
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • 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

Urgent Matters


Commentary

Get ready, because next-generation 911 is coming

Get ready, because next-generation 911 is coming

Looking for information about next-gen 911? Join us on Dec. 5 at the IWCE Virtual Trade Show to hear a panel of experts discuss the possibilities and challenges associated with NG-911.
  • Written by
  • 7th November 2013

Earlier this week, I stopped by the Illinois Institute of Technology’s campus in Wheaton, Ill., where the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) was staging a next-generation 911 test event. This particular event focused on the ability to properly log and record all of the myriad elements of a NG-911 call, including voice, video, text and sensor data. It was mentioned that the next test event—to be conducted sometime in 2014—will put the entire NG-911 architecture through its paces. Clearly, NG-911 is heading to the finish line, at least in terms of its engineering.

When NG-911 finally becomes reality, public-safety answering points (PSAPs) of the future will be able to do things that today’s PSAPs only can dream of doing. They will be able to accept text and video from citizenry; they will be able to share data with 911 centers; they will be able to reroute calls to other centers when their own centers have been rendered inoperable by natural or manmade disasters; and they will be able to set up mobile dispatch centers when circumstances warrant.

But, while the future promise of NG-911 is incredibly exciting, there are numerous barriers to entry.

To help you navigate these uncharted waters, we will be presenting a webinar entitled, “Migration Plans: Next-Generation 911” on Dec. 5. I’m excited to be the moderator for this panel discussion, during which industry experts will examine the primary obstacles to deployment: funding, backhaul, analytics—even cultural issues.

Each of these areas presents unique challenges. Culturally, change never has come easy to the public-safety sector. Though I wasn’t around at the time, I’ve been told by several 911 sector veterans that many telecommunicators were troubled greatly when computer-aided dispatch came on the scene. Learning the nuances of CAD may seem like a day at the beach compared with the complexities of handling a NG-911 call. So, PSAP officials are going to have their hands full, first convincing telecommunicators that this is something that makes sense and then preparing them to handle it.

Backhaul and analytics will be critical elements of “handling it.” It’s exciting to think of the additional NG-911 information at the disposal of telecommunicators in the future that will help them do an even better job in the future—and that’s saying something, because they generally do a terrific job today. But all of that data has the potential to clog the pipe, so PSAP officials are going to need to figure out the backhaul piece. Similarly, that tsunami of data in raw form would overwhelm telecommunicators, so analytics will be needed to make sense of it all.

But the biggest challenge is funding. It’s a mess in the 911 sector, and unless the model is revamped, PSAPs will have to get creative if they want to deploy NG-911 technology. That’s why I’m excited that Kenneth Smith, 911 coordinator for Williamson County, Ill., has agreed to participate in a webinar that we will be hosting as part of the IWCE & Urgent Communications Virtual Trade Show on Dec. 5.

Williamson is one of 18 counties in Southern Illinois that have pooled their resources to try to make NG-911 a reality. Roger Hixson, NENA’s technical services director, and a driving force in the development of NG-911 technology, has described the regional approach taken by Smith and his cohorts as “probably the way of the future.” I’m eager to hear of their progress.

Smith will be joined on the panel by two early adopters of NG-911 technology, David Tucker, executive director of the Vermont Enhanced 911 Board, and Barbara Vos, E-911 program manager for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

If you’re thinking about NG-911—and I’d be willing to bet that you are, because it’s coming—then I urge you to attend this webinar, which is just one of six that will be presented during this day-long, free event. (Click here to register.)

There’s no question in my mind that you will be able to figure out the NG-911 puzzle on your own—but I’m equally certain that it will be easier and faster to let those who have gone before show you the way. 

Tags: CAD PSAP Commentary Dispatch/Call-taking IWCE NENA NG-911 Public Safety Urgent Matters Commentary

Most Recent


  • Get ready, because next-generation 911 is coming
    Newscan: NYPD’s bomb-sniffing dogs get a high-tech upgrade to keep city safe
    Web Roundup Items from other news organizations NYPD’s bomb-sniffing dogs get a high-tech upgrade to keep city safe Neighbors app usage grows among police, fire departments Allied cybersecurity agencies advise against disabling popular tool for cyberattakers Viasat shareholders approve Inmarsat acquisition Telecom players divided on Gigi Sohn’s FCC prospects as August recess looms Op-Ed: The […]
  • Chinese APT group likely using ransomware attacks as cover for IP theft
    A China-based advanced persistent threat (APT) actor, active since early 2021, appears to be using ransomware and double-extortion attacks as camouflage for systematic, government-sponsored cyberespionage and intellectual property theft. In all of the attacks, the threat actor has used a malware loader called the HUI Loader — associated exclusively with China-backed groups — to load […]
  • AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile tout Z-axis support for 911
    The nation’s biggest wireless network operators told the FCC earlier this month that they are successfully securing Z-axis location data for 911 calls. That’s critical because the information can be combined with existing X- and Y-axis data in order to let emergency responders know exactly which floor a 911 caller in a skyscraper is located, […]
  • California grants first permit to test AVs using only Lidar sensing
    The fiercely fought battle in California among self-driving tech companies has taken a new twist with the granting of a permit to Korean firm Vueron. The permit, issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, is the first in the state to sanction the testing of autonomous vehicles (AVs) using one Lidar sensor only. Generally, the […]

Related Content

Commentary


LTE and liability: Why the fire service must move forward with digital incident command

  • 2
6th May 2022

Partnership and collaboration must be the foundation for emergency communications

18th April 2022

FirstNet success means no hypothetical ‘shots’ need to be fired, Swenson says

22nd February 2022
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Newscan: NYPD’s bomb-sniffing dogs get a high-tech upgrade to keep city safe dlvr.it/SSpSD1

25th June 2022
UrgentComm

Chinese APT group likely using ransomware attacks as cover for IP theft dlvr.it/SSmJNm

24th June 2022
UrgentComm

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile tout Z-axis support for 911 dlvr.it/SSkGxK

23rd June 2022
UrgentComm

California grants first permit to test AVs using only Lidar sensing dlvr.it/SSkG7x

23rd June 2022
UrgentComm

Buying smart solutions: Technology is now part of (almost) every government purchase dlvr.it/SSk77q

23rd June 2022
UrgentComm

France preparing to launch public-safety broadband network, official says dlvr.it/SSh12p

23rd June 2022
UrgentComm

Newscan: Law-enforcement radios failed during Uvalde school mass shooting, Texas official says dlvr.it/SSf9vM

22nd June 2022
UrgentComm

AT&T, Verizon agree to another year of C-band mitigation around airports dlvr.it/SSXHRD

20th June 2022

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
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 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.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X