Five state and local 911 networks test federal program
Five local and state government-operated Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) are participating in the proof of concept phase of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Next Generation 911 (NG 911) Initiative. Three laboratories also are participating in the phase, which aims to test PSAPs’ ability to meet specific requirements.
PSAPs operated by Rochester, N.Y.; King County, Wash.; St. Paul, Minn.; Montana and Indiana were chosen for the study. The PSAPs are being tested for their ability to receive voice, video and text data, determine the location of callers and route 911 calls based on that location, improve 911 access for the deaf and hearing impaired, transmit accident specifics such as speed and crash velocity, and provide Internet protocol networking and security.
Results of the demonstration will be analyzed and used to revise and complete the project’s preliminary system architecture. More information on NG911 is available at www.its.dot.gov/NG911.
