New coalition of 911 organizations calls for completed transition to next-gen platform by end of 2020

Indeed, such variance in functional capabilities has long been a characteristic of 911 service in the United States, based on state and local resources and political priorities. While some PSAPs struggle to maintain basic 911 services, other call centers are Phase 2 compliant and on the cusp of delivering NG911 functionality.

NG911 is designed to provide greater functionality, flexibility and reliability than is possible in a legacy 911 system—and possibly at a lower cost, according to Flaherty.

But it is important for 911 systems to be backward compatible with legacy systems as long as they exist, so PSAPs that make the transition to NG911 likely will have to maintain both next-gen equipment and legacy-system components until the NG911 transition is complete throughout a geographic region. These dual costs likely will be prohibitive for cash-strapped PSAPs, which is why new funding streams and a target date for completion are critical, according to Fontes.

“The longer it takes to sustain the incumbent system while also growing into the next-generation 911 system harms those people that probably have the least amount of money for this type of effort, and that’s the cities, the counties and the states who will have to sustain both in this process,” Fontes said. “So, it’s critically important that we move together collectively to encourage these leaders—and public safety—to work in concert to set a date, to move to that date and ensure that we have all of the resources necessary to transition to the next generation of 911.”

Fontes noted that the need for 911 to migrate to an IP-based NG911 platform is especially urgent now. Not only does the public use this technology, but U.S. first responders are expected to do the same during the next few years with the proposed rollout of the nationwide FirstNet system, he said.

“That is really what it’s all about: Using the technology that we have today in are smart devices and elsewhere that will enable the public to be better served,” Fontes said. “As the public transitions to IP technology and their smart handsets, and as FirstNet gets up and running with their IP technology, it’s essential that the link between the public and that first-responder community also have that IP connectivity capability.”