AT&T announces plan to deploy nationwide ESInet to support PSAPs’ transition to NG911

By deploying a nationwide ESInet, AT&T believes it can reduce a PSAP’s NG911 deployment time significantly, Benway said. In addition, AT&T officials hope that this offering will allow PSAPs to make ESInets an operational expense instead of a significant capital cost—the financial model that has been typically used when making a 911 technology transition.

“We’re trying to make it more about buying a service, versus a capital acquisition of a bunch of hardware and software in a customized wrapper that has to be integrated,” Benway said. “So, the economic structure will also be very different—it’s more out of the service model.”

Dami Hummel, senior vice president of strategic marketing and product management for West’s safety-services division, expressed enthusiasm about teaming with AT&T on the ESInet offering.

“West is a leading pioneer of 911 technology — this announcement is an industry milestone,” Hummel said in a prepared statement. “Together, we’ve developed powerful 9-1-1 technology that will significantly improve performance and reliability of emergency communications into the future.”

Representatives of key public-safety associations applauded the announcement.

“The deployment of AT&T ESInet will be a critical step towards Next Generation 9-1-1 implementation,” NENA CEO Brian Fontes said in a prepared statement. “NENA congratulates AT&T on this service that will help move 9-1-1 into the 21st Century and provide 9-1-1 centers with enhanced life-saving tools and capabilities.”

This sentiment was echoed by Brent Lee, president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).

“I congratulate AT&T for launching this service,” Lee said in a prepared statement. “Making reliable and secure IP-based networks available for PSAPs is an essential step toward realizing the benefits of next-generation capabilities. APCO looks forward to working with industry leaders like AT&T to drive progress toward a complete NG911 ecosystem that meets public safety’s needs.”