Feds Issue Next-Gen 911 Roadmap

The federal 911 coordination agency has issued a 93-page plan for migrating to the the nation’s next-generation, a potentially landmark document that outlines the importance of having an IP-based system and setting how it could be implemented. The National E9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office issued the report about six months later than planned, and acknowledged that there are “challenges to overcome,” noting the American public now expects total access to 911 regardless of location or type of communications device. “Yet, even with the devices that can access 9-1-1 now—landline, wireless, and voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones—service is inconsistent across the United States.” The Office warned that, “Without concerted national leadership and coordination, this disparity will only grow as consumers adopt new voice, text and video applications and local 9-1-1 Authorities cobble together solutions to access the antiquated 9-1-1 system one technology at a time.” The report also noted that funding, institutional and technical issues must be addressed, “if anything more than isolated and fragmented pockets of IP-enabled 9-1-1 capabilities are to be deployed.” Download (pdf) the full report here.