Emergency Communications: The Future of 911

The underlying systems for 911 calls today operate almost exclusively on analog
technology, using an architecture of circuits and switches developed when the American
Telephone & Telegraph Company was a regulated monopoly providing most of the
nation's telephone service.1 Modern communications innovations such as digitization, packet
switching, and Internet Protocol (IP) standards are alien concepts in an outdated system design
that "literally chokes off the use of all but the most rudimentary features of modern end-user
devices and stifles the development of more specialized equipment and services."2 Systems for
911, unable to accommodate the latest advances in telecommunications technology, are
increasingly out-dated, costly to maintain, and in danger of failure.3

Consumer expectations for accurate and timely response to 911 calls are based on the advanced
features available on most communications devices, not on the reality of a faltering legacy
system. The analog system cannot carry text messages, for example. Calls are delayed or dropped
when analog and digital systems do not mesh. Information on the location of the call is lost
because the digital details cannot be transmitted by the underlying telecommunications
infrastructure or understood by the computers at Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). PSAPs
are the call centers that receive and relay 911 calls. As summarized in a National Emergency
Number Association (NENA) report, "Simply put, the 9-1-1 system has not kept up with
technology and is badly in need of modernization."4 Modernizing the system to provide the
quality of service that approaches the expectations of its users will require investments in new
technologies. The general consensus is that present and future digital communications would be
best supported by Next Generation 911 technology (NG9-1-1). The term NG9-1-1 is widely used
to refer to the modernization of all parts of the 911 system, including hardware, software, data,
and operational policies and procedures, all supported by multi-purpose emergency service
networks.

Endnotes

1
Dale Hatfield, Brad Bernthal, and Phil Weiser, Health of the US 9-1-1 System, sponsored by the 9-1-1 Industry
Alliance, 2008, Part II, "Section B. Background and Evolution of Our Nation's 9-1-1 System," page 20. Report at
http://www.911alliance.org/9IA_Health_of_US_911%20_2_.pdf.
2
Ibid., page 19.
3
Ibid. Part II, "Section D. Constraints and Shortcomings Associated with the Current 9-1-1 System." See also, "An
SOS for 9-1-1 Systems in Age of High-Tech," by Shaila Dewan, The New York Times, April 6, 2007.
4
NENA, Next Generation Partner Program, A Policy Maker Blueprint for Transitioning to the Next Generation 9-1-1
System: Issues and Recommendations for State and Federal Policy Makers to Enable NG9-1-1, page 2. Report at
http://www.nena.org/media/File/NG9-1-1PolicyMakerBlueprintTransitionGuide-Final_1.pdf.