Next Generation 9-1-1 Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative?

A: The Next Generation (NG9-1-1) Initiative is a US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Research and Development project funded by the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), Joint Program Office (JPO), that will define a system architecture for emergency communication that enables the transmission of voice, data or video from different types of communication devices to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and onto emergency responder networks. The NG9-1-1 Initiative will also develop a transition plan that considers responsibilities, costs, schedule and benefits for deploying this architecture.

Q: What’s wrong with the current 9-1-1 system?

A: The infrastructure of the Nation's current 9-1-1 system has essentially not changed since the first 9-1-1 call was made in 1968. Connections to this network have been adapted to accommodate TTY and wireless calls, but the basic infrastructure is decades old and cannot handle the text, data, images and video that are increasingly common in personal communications and critical to future transportation safety and mobility advances. To date, there has been no planned method for receiving the additional available data that could affect or improve the delivery of emergency services

The NG9-1-1 Initiative will establish a foundation for emergency communications services in a wireless mobile society. It will create a framework for 9-1-1 services to advance from analog to digital technology, and from copper landlines to Internet Protocol (IP)-based internetworks. This will enable the transmission of voice, text, video and photos, and will result in a more robust, resilient 9-1-1 network.

Q: How is the US Department of Transportation involved?

A: The NG9-1-1 Initiative is co-managed by the ITS JPO and the Office of Emergency Medical Services at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It is leveraging work from USDOT’s earlier Wireless E9-1-1 Initiative, as well as myriad of other requirements and technical approaches undertaken by both public and private entities, representing the public safety community as well as the work done by industry and government.

Q: Who is involved in the NG9-1-1 Initiative?

A: USDOT is leading a project team through a contract with the firm of Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) as the primary contractor. The NG9-1-1 Initiative team also includes the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), L. Robert Kimball & Associates as well as an academic-based consortium, being led by the Texas A&M University.

Stakeholder involvement in the project is crucial its overall success. Throughout the Initiative, input is being solicited from a large group of stakeholders. The 9-1-1 constituency is a diverse group of entities, including local, State and Federal government agencies, professional and industry associations, Standards Development Organizations, consumer advocacy organizations, research and academia, traditional, IT and VoIP telecommunication service providers and companies providing hardware and software to PSAPs. These stakeholders are being involved in all aspects of the project dealing with the creation, delivery, receipt, and management of 9-1-1 calls.

Q: What is the timeline for the NG9-1-1 initiative?

A: The current NG9-1-1 Initiative is expected to run from December 2006 through November 2008.

Q: How is the NG9-1-1 Initiative organized?

A: Both the DOT and the Booz Allen team have distinct responsibilities. The DOT began the work by completing an initial Concept of Operations document and engaging the stakeholders.

There are four (4) distinct tasks, or phases, included in the Booz Allen team contract, including:

• Task 1: System Architecture,
• Task 2: Preliminary Transition Planning,
• Task 3: Proof of Concept Demonstration, and
• Task 4: Final Transition Planning.

Each of these tasks has subtasks and is build upon one another and work on multiple tasks will proceed in parallel. Once the Booz Allen team completes the four tasks, the results of the NG9-1-1 Initiative will transition to the National 9-1-1 Office.

Task 1: System Development

Q: What work will be accomplished during Task 1, System Architecture ?

A: The following subtasks are included in Task 1:

• Revision of Concept of Operations,
• High Level Requirements,
• Detailed System Requirements,
• Configuration Management, and
• Architecture Analysis.

Q: What is the Concept of Operations document?

A: The purpose of the Concept of Operations (“ConOps”) is to communicate the vision of the NG9-1-1 system and provide a high-level description of what the NG9-1-1 system will do. It serves as the foundation for the development of the NG9-1-1 requirements and will drive the design of the o verall system architecture and transition plan. The intended audience for the ConOps includes the users, stakeholders, and the operational and support elements that comprise the NG9-1-1 System. The ConOps is intended to provide a user-oriented vision of NG9-1-1 that can be understood by stakeholders with a broad range of operational and technical expertise so that they can actively engage in its development and deployment.

Q: What is meant by the “Emergency Services Internetwork”?

A: The “Emergency Services Internetwork,” as defined by the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) VII Focus Group 1D, refers to a network of networks, or a “series of secure local, regional, and national wireline and wireless [9-1-1 ] networks providing modern, integrated [emergency] information capabilities to support local, regional, and national needs, or a system of systems”.

Q: What is a Community Model and what is its purpose?

A: The NG9-1-1 Community Model is a graphic model depicting users, stakeholders, and the associated operational and support elements that comprise the NG9-1-1 System. The Community Model allows these stakeholders to visualize how the NG9-1-1 System interacts with all of these entities and how they fit into the emergency communication internetwork or network of networks.

Q: What are requirements?

A: Beginning with the vision of the ConOps document, high-level requirements are developed with input from stakeholders who will use, operate and support the NG9-1-1 architecture. The requirements describe what functions the system must perform, not how the system carries out these functions. The requirements definition process is focused on capturing and translating the NG9-1-1 mission into functional, system, performance, and data requirements.

Q: Which Standard Development Organizations (SDOs) and other stakeholder activities are being considered?

A: Key documents and activities will be considered from a variety of SDO sources including:

• the Internet Engineering Task Force’s (IETF),
• the Emergency Context Resolution with Internet Technologies (ECRIT), and
• the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions’ (ATIS) Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF).

Information from other documents and resources has also been incorporated as part of the starting point for the NG9-1-1 Initiative, including:

• The National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) i3 Technical Requirements and
• The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) National Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) Focus Groups 1B and 1D.

Task 2: Preliminary Transition Analysis

Q: What work will be accomplished during Task 2, Preliminary Transition Analysis?

A: The following subtasks are included in Task 2:

• Preliminary Analysis of Cost, Value, and Risk and
• Preliminary Transition Issues Report and Plan.

Q: How will the Analysis of Cost, Value and Risk be developed?

A: Completion of the Cost-Value-Risk Analysis involves developing a framework and a process to evaluate the life-cycle costs, benefits and risks for each architecture alternative, ranging from doing nothing (i.e., status quo or as-is architecture), to implementing the “to be” NG9-1-1 architecture. It includes a qualitative estimate of non-financial value that may not be accounted for in traditional cost/benefit analysis, allowing for a more rigorous comparison of alternatives.

Q: How will the Transition Plan be developed?

A: The transition plan will identify critical system deployment issues, including a variety of operational, regulatory, institutional, governance, funding, and public policy issues critical to successful transition to a next generation IP-based architecture. Working with stakeholders, the Final Transition Plan will describe strategies and models as options for overcoming challenges to deployment.

Task 3: Proof-of-Concept Demonstration

Q: What work will be accomplished during Task 3, Proof of Concept (POC)?

A: The following subtasks are included in Task 3:

• POC Deployment Plan,
• Call Taker Human Machine Interface (HMI) Design,
• Data Analysis Plan/Data Acquisition System Design,
• Proof-of-Concept Test Plan ,
• POC Demonstration Report/Test Results, and
• Final POC System Design.

Q: What are the objectives of the Proof-of-Concept?

A: The objective of the Proof-of-Concept is to test specific requirements from the NG9-1-1 Detailed System Requirements Document. Specific requirements were selected from a prioritized list developed by the NG9-1-1 team with input from a variety of 9-1-1 stakeholders. The specific objectives of the POC include:

• Developing a working NG9-1-1 model that can receive text, images, and video (in addition to voice) from several different kinds of access networks and communications devices (e.g. PDAs, computers, auto telematics),
• Demonstrate 9-1-1 call transfer, backup and distance access among geographically dispersed PSAPs using NG9-1-1, IP-based routing capability, and
• Demonstrate use of open platforms and non-proprietary standards for developing NG9-1-1 solutions.

Q: What is the timeframe of the Proof-of-Concept?

A: The POC is expected to begin in April 2008 and will last approximately two to three months. Following completion, data gathered during the POC will be analyzed and used to revise the system design and complete the transition plan.

Q: How will the Proof-of-Concept be conducted?

A: Using all of the documents created in preceding tasks, the project will construct, implement and test selected, specific system requirements of the NG9-1-1 network; using a combination of “live” and “lab” facilities. The POC will include three lab facilities and five PSAP locations. While live data will not be used, PSAPs will provide access to varying equipment and staff to participate in the POC.

Q: Where are the three lab facilities located?

A: The three lab facilities that will be used for the POC are:

• Booz Allen’s Center for Network and Systems Innovation ( Herndon, VA),
• Texas A&M Internet2 Technical Evaluation Center ( College Station, TX), and
• Columbia University ( New York City, NY).

Q: How were the PSAP locations selected by USDOT to be participants in the POC? Who was selected?

A: Five PSAP locations were selected from over 50 applicants, using objective criteria developed by the NG9-1-1 team. While the field included many impressive applicants, resulting in a very close competition, the NG9-1-1 Initiative is limited by funding and schedule, requiring the decision to limit participation. The USDOT sincerely acknowledges and appreciates the willingness of all applicants to go "above and beyond" in offering to participate in the POC. The selected PSAPs are:

• City of Rochester – Emergency Communications Department, Rochester, NY,
• King County E-911 System, Seattle, WA,
• Metropolitan Emergency Services Board – Ramsey Co. Emergency Communications Center, St. Paul, MN,
• State of Montana – Public Safety Services Bureau, Helena, MT, and
• State of Indiana - Office of State Treasurer, Indiana Wireless 911 Board.

Q: What is included in the Final POC System Design Assessment?

A: The System Design Assessment includes an evaluation and a record of all problems, defects, and errors discovered during the proof-of-concept demonstration as defined in the Proof-of-Concept Test Plan. Additionally, the overall deployment experience will be evaluated to identify enhancements that will improve the system design (e.g., reduce operating costs, update user interface, and simplify data access).

Task 4: Final Transition Analysis

Q: What work will be accomplished during Task 4, Final Transition Plan?

A: The following subtasks are included in Task 4:

• Final Cost-Value-Risk Analysis and
• The Final Transition Plan.

Q: How will the Final Transition Analysis be conducted?

A: This final version of the Transition Plan will draw upon the findings and conclusions of Tasks 1, 2, and 3 as well as input solicited from stakeholders to further identify and refine deployment issues and describe strategies to address identified issues.

Q: How can I find out more about the NG9-1-1 Initiative?

A: A complete description of the NG9-1-1 Initiative as well as completed documents can be found at http://www.its.dot.gov/ng911.