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NG9-1-1 Preliminary Transition Plan

Overview

Although the 9-1-1 system has been an unqualified success story for more than 30 years, changes in the public’s use of technology, the saturation of the mobile market, and the spread of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony over broadband are contributing to greater expectations that the current system will need to address. Because text, data, images, and video are increasingly common in personal communications and are critical to future transportation safety, the 9-1-1 system will be expected to accommodate highly mobile, dynamic communications modes. The architecture of these communication nodes directly counters the fundamental structure of the current 9-1-1 system. To guide and foster a nationwide vision of a 9-1-1 system for the 21st century, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is taking a lead role in the research and development needed to bring about a more capable Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) system that supports emergency call delivery and a response based system that maximizes impact across a diverse stakeholder community.

There are, however, a large number of operational, economic, political, and institutional issues that must be addressed and reconciled if the NG9-1-1 system is to be implemented successfully across the nation. Implementing NG9-1-1 will likely be a complicated process, requiring the effective, timely and willing cooperation of an array of stakeholders. To address these issues, the NG9-1-1 Initiative has begun researching and analyzing the strategic transition elements and options that could be followed to further the progress and implementation of NG9-1-1. This Preliminary Transition Plan will help frame how the government and industry view the deployment of NG9-1-1 and the key decisions that might need to be made by each level of government and the private sector to make implementation a reality.

Potential Deployment Approaches

Transition to NG9-1-1 is expected to be evolutionary process, involving technological, economic, and institutional change. In some cases, the path to NG9-1-1 implementation will depend on the underlying infrastructure and state of the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and 9-1-1 Authorities. In other cases, the transition to NG9-1-1 may depend on the ability of originating service networks to deliver NG9-1-1 calls via native internet protocol (IP)-based infrastructure to jurisdictions that are prepared to receive those calls. Regardless of the specific evolutionary steps, it is expected that NG9-1-1 system implementation within the public sector will likely follow one of two general frameworks for deployment:

• Coordinated, Intergovernmental Approach: Planned and coordinated deployments of NG9-1-1 capabilities that are governed by statewide 9-1-1 Authorities, regional Authorities, or informal mechanisms that enable a cooperative deployment.
• Independent, Unilateral Approach: Decentralized deployments of NG9-1-1 capabilities by local jurisdictions through independent initiatives.

The NG9-1-1 vision also implies some degree of national leadership for the deployment of next generation systems. While there is no single best national approach to coordinating NG9-1-1 implementation at a national level, potential stakeholders range from invested federal agencies and national associations.

Strategies and Options for NG9-1-1 Going Forward

Although there are specific challenges and decisions for states, 9-1-1 Authorities, and PSAPs when choosing an implementation path, there are also national and local issues that need to be resolved irrespective of the transition approach. Consequently, the identification of broader strategic options for progressing toward NG9-1-1 has been defined in this document to help the emergency communications community and local, state, and federal policy makers address critical elements for success as they plan and implement NG9-1-1 nationwide. Within this document, the NG9-1-1 agenda for transition is defined by the following strategic elements: Funding, Operations, Standards and Technology, and Governance and Policy. Making progress in all aspects of these strategic elements is essential because the elements are largely interdependent. Therefore, to gain a true picture of a region's transition to NG9-1-1, progress along all of the elements of should be considered together.

As part of the transition planning process, the strategic elements described in this document will also signal which organizations will be responsible for responding to them and thus guide future options, decisions, and strategy. Within this Plan, each strategic element for the transition to NG9-1-1 is described in terms of what the strategic issues are, what has already been accomplished to address these issues, and what could still be done to address the issue. These elements are briefly described in Table E-1.

Table E-1: NG9-1-1 Strategic Elements

Strategic Elements	Description
	Most State and local Authorities obtain funding by imposing and collecting fees on telecommunications services such as landline, wireless, and IP-enabled voice services. Jurisdictions must be willing to commit the resources necessary to ensure the success of any next generation effort. For example, ongoing maintenance and support of the system must be planned for and incorporated into the budget.
	Operations include PSAP operations, as well as broader standard operating procedures (SOPs), formal written guidelines and/or instructions for calls and incidents (e.g., PSAP goes down), as well as training, exercises, and operational optimization (e.g., business process reengineering, change management).
	Progress in each of the other elements is essential to proper planning, use, and implementation of NG9-1-1 technology, and should drive technology procurement. Technology is highly dependent on existing infrastructure within a region and/or what is available to states and PSAPs from service providers. Multiple technology solutions may be required to support unique situations.
	Governance and policy includes leadership and planning—both key to entities transitioning to NG9-1-1. For example, many regions face difficulties related to political issues and the relationships within and across jurisdictions and disciplines. Leadership can help to work through these challenging internal and jurisdictional conflicts as well as set the stage for a region's commitment to the NG9-1-1 effort. Success in this element is also based on public’s awareness, use, and satisfaction with NG9-1-1 services.

NG9-1-1 Initiative Transition Planning: Next Steps

Over the coming months, the NG9-1-1 Initiative will use the NG9-1-1 Preliminary Transition Plan to ensure the dialogue and cooperation established by the initiative is continued and extended in the future. All groups and individuals with a stake in NG9-1-1—industry, the general public, governments, communities, and nongovernmental organizations—have a right and a responsibility to have their voices heard in dialogue about the future of 9-1-1. The NG9-1-1 initiative will build on and expand its Preliminary Transition Plan throughout 2008, based on the feedback it receives after this document is published and released to the public. At the end of 2008, the NG9-1-1 Initiative will publish a final NG9-1-1 Transition Plan that serves as an agenda for action and a foundation for the 9-1-1 community in planning and deploying NG9-1-1.

Introduction—About This Report

NG9-1-1 Project Background

The Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative (NG9-1-1) is a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) research and development project that will help define the system architecture and develop a transition plan that considers responsibilities, costs, schedule, and benefits for deploying Internet Protocol (IP)-based emergency technologies within the 9-1-1 network across the Nation.[1] As detailed in the USDOT NG9-1-1 System Initiative: Concept of Operations (CONOPS), USDOT understands that access to emergency services provided by public safety answering points (PSAP) in today’s world of evolving technology will ultimately occur within a broader array of interconnected networks comprehensively supporting emergency services—from public access to those services, to the facilitation of those services, to the delivery of the emergency information to dispatchers and first responders.[2]

The USDOT’s NG9-1-1 Initiative, has two main areas of focus: Technical/Engineering and Institutional/Transitional. The technical aspect of the NG9-1-1 Initiative mainly centers on documenting NG9-1-1 system requirements, developing a system architecture, and demonstrating a proof of concept system. The institutional aspect primarily focuses on developing an assessment of cost, value, and risk of the NG9-1-1 system and developing a transition plan to evaluate all non-technical factors (e.g., cost, stakeholders, impacts, benefits) that will affect the successful transition to NG9-1-1.

Purpose and Scope of the Preliminary Transition Plan

To facilitate the migration to the NG9-1-1 system, it is critical to understand and assess transition issues and identify potential options to resolve or address the issue. Without a clear understanding of the potential challenges and options to address the obstacles, the deployment of NG9-1-1 may extend over an inordinate length of time. The NG9-1-1 Preliminary Transition Plan summarizes key funding, standards and technology, operations, and governance and policy issues identified in the NG9-1-1 Transition Issues Report (Appendix A), that will affect the transition from today’s 9-1-1 to a nationwide NG9-1-1 system. Furthermore, the Plan, at a high level, identifies potential strategic options from which each affected stakeholder type can select to mitigate or resolve the transition issue. This report serves as the initial step in developing an NG9-1-1 Transition Plan for the 9-1-1 community. Leveraging this report and extensive stakeholder engagements throughout the coming year, USDOT will develop a final transition plan that further defines and discusses strategic options to assist the 9-1-1 community in transitioning to the NG9-1-1 system. In addition, the NG9-1-1 Transition Plan can inform public policy officials at all levels of government on considerations for legislative or regulatory attention to ensure successful transition to NG9-1-1.

Methodology

The USDOT used a phased approach to ensure that the Preliminary Transition Plan captured a list of critical issues and associated potential strategic options related to the NG9-1-1 transition. In reviewing existing references, USDOT found a significant and growing body of work discussing and beginning to address NG9-1-1 transition issues, including testimony before legislative and regulatory bodies; standard development organization (SDO) documents; professional association and academic research, white papers, and issue papers; and lessons learned from statewide IP-based 9-1-1 system implementations (e.g., Indiana’s IN9-1-1).

In addition to existing reference research, USDOT has or will continue to reach out to the 9-1-1 stakeholders, including users such as 9-1-1 Authorities, call takers, and the general public; associations; local, state, and federal government agencies; and vendors, including service providers and equipment providers, to verify the issues and options and provide feedback on the most effective method to present the final transition plan so that it is beneficial to the 9-1-1 community.

How to Use This Preliminary Transition Plan

The intended audience for this document includes 9-1-1 stakeholders who have interest in or are directly affected by the transition to NG9-1-1. This report seeks to address readers with varying levels of familiarity with NG9-1-1. For the 9-1-1 stakeholders who have interest in or are directly affected by the transition to NG9-1-1, this report provides a high-level description of issues that may arise and potential options that each stakeholder group can employ to mitigate the issue.

1. To learn more about the potential implementation paths that states and jurisdictions may follow to transition to NG9-1-1, turn to the section How NG9-1-1 Could Be Implemented Across the Nation: Potential Deployment Approaches.
2. To learn more about the strategic options and transition elements that will enable these NG9-1-1 implementation paths, turn to the section Strategies and Options for NG9-1-1 Going Forward. This section explains the key NG9-1-1 transition elements and how potential strategies and options have been analyzed within this preliminary report. The corresponding sections addressing Funding, Operations, Standards and Technology, and Governance and Policy describe, in more, detail what actions could be taken in the future to progress toward achieving NG9-1-1.
3. To find out how your organization or stakeholder group is affected and how it can help resolve key NG9-1-1 transition issues, turn to section Stakeholders That Will Be Key to the NG9-1-1 Transition and choose your role as a 9-1-1 stakeholder and the corresponding symbol. For example, if you are a 9-1-1 Authority. For each major transition element and strategy, you can look for your symbol within the Strategies and Options section or Appendix D to learn how your community may be able to impact or contribute to the resolution of financial, operational, technology or governance issues.

Taken together, both the transition paths and strategies for addressing transition elements can help stakeholders better understand what options are available and who else may be involved in addressing issues resulting from the transition to NG9-1-1. Once all stakeholders understand what options are available and who else is affected, they can design or contribute to a tailored path that is appropriate for their jurisdiction.

Background: From 9-1-1 and E9-1-1 to NG9-1-1

The Nation’s 9-1-1 system architecture, built in the late 1960s, is based on a decades-old, analog, circuit-switched network technology. In the beginning, 9-1-1 call processing was basic, using three-digit dialing, circuit-based transmission to PSAPs, and neither Automatic Number Identification (ANI) nor Automatic Location Identification (ALI) functions were available. The calls were received and processed through wireline infrastructure to the PSAP. As new technologies were introduced, modifications were made to establish connection to this basic 9-1-1 infrastructure. “Enhanced” 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) enabled the functionality to route calls to appropriate PSAPs based on the location of the caller using selective routing equipment, as well as provide PSAPs with the number (ANI) and address information associated (ALI) with the caller.

In the mid-1990s, with the proliferation of wireless technologies, the 9-1-1 system faced new challenges—receiving wireless 9-1-1 calls and identifying the location of the caller. The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Order 94-102[3] proceeding established requirements and deadlines in two phases, requiring that all wireless carriers provide the caller’s telephone number and location information to the PSAPs. In 2005, with the growth of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony, the FCC issued Order 05-116[4] requiring VoIP providers to offer 9-1-1 services to all subscribers. These new technologies required further modifications to the existing 9-1-1 infrastructure to enable the connection of wireless and VoIP 9-1-1 calls.

The growing consumer market penetration of both wireless and VoIP telephony, and the increasing use of advanced technologies they represent, has underscored the limitations of the current 9-1-1 infrastructure. The Nation’s 9-1-1 system, based on decades-old technology, cannot handle video, text, images, and other data that are increasingly common in personal communications. The pace of change in technology will not slow. If government wants to ensure that the general public has access to 9-1-1 from multiple communications devices, it will need to ensure that the 9-1-1 infrastructure can accommodate new technologies. If left unchanged, the current 9-1-1 system will face a multitude of pressures as society and technology continues to advance. For example—

• At least 8 million customers currently rely solely on wireless communications as their primary telephone service (having discontinued wireline service or chosen not to use it).[5]
• Estimates are that 12–15 million households will be using a VoIP service as either a primary or secondary telephone line by the end of 2008.[6]

Current 9-1-1 System Deficiencies

For a member of the public making an emergency call from a traditional wireline telephone, the 9-1-1 system works as designed. However, the proportion of calls to 9-1-1 calls placed from wireless telephones is approaching one-half in many communities.[7] A small, but growing, number of telephone users have acquired VoIP service. Wireless and VoIP service users often do not have traditional wireline telephone service in their homes or offices. As a result, the 9-1-1 system is becoming functionally deficient for this growing segment of the public. In addition, the system as it exists cannot incorporate the multiple types of data transmitted by new communications devices, and therefore, cannot unlock the potential for better emergency service delivery that these data types represent.

The communications and computing technology available to the public has advanced and continues to advance faster than the 9-1-1 system is able to change to meet the consumer’s needs.[8] In particular, technology has allowed 9-1-1 callers and their communications devices to be mobile, thus creating a major challenge for the current 9-1-1 service delivery model, which relies on accurate callback and location data for every 9-1-1 call. It has now been more than a decade since the FCC required that all wireless carriers provide the caller’s telephone number and location information to the PSAPs, yet not all PSAPs can receive this information from wireless calls.[9] With the advancement of technology, the emergency communication networks are continuing to become less efficient, less technologically advanced, and, as a result, less able to provide the public with 9-1-1 services on newer technologies and devices.

In addition, the deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired segment of the population has been historically underserved by 9-1-1. Current regulations require PSAPs to provide direct and equal access to their services to all citizens, regardless of disability.[10] As a result, PSAPs operators employ Telecommunication Device for the Deaf/Teletypewriter (TDD/TTY)equipment to communicate with the deaf and hearing-impaired, and assistive technologies to aid speech-impaired individuals. However, although the technology used by individuals with a disability has improved dramatically through the use of consumer devices, access to 9-1-1 has not significantly improved, and the population has become even more underserved by the Nation’s PSAPs.

NG9-1-1: Where We Are Going…

USDOT and the 9-1-1 community believe that a technological evolution to NG9-1-1 is essential for the Nation’s 9-1-1 networks to adapt to the public’s increasing use of wireless communications and digital and IP-based devices to communicate. Many of these devices also transmit video, text, images, and other data. These technologies enable major advances in the ability of callers and public safety responders to send and receive useful information to, from, and beyond the emergency services internetwork.[11] Two examples that illustrate this point are emergency calls in American Sign Language (ASL) via video, and medically relevant telematics data transmitted from a car after a vehicle crash. With the trends in telecommunication and information technology (IT) convergence,[12] the current 9-1-1 systems should transition to a state-of-the-art infrastructure that will enable the transmission of voice, text, images, and other data from all types of communications devices to PSAPs, and on to emergency responder networks.

NG9-1-1 will be part of a comprehensive emergency communication system (or “system of systems”) that will capitalize on advances in information and communications technologies, and will enable—

• Quicker and more robust information delivered to both responders and the general public as the result of making a 9-1-1 call
• Better and more useful forms of information (text, images, and video) from any networked communications device
• Transfer of 9-1-1 calls between geographically dispersed PSAPs (and from PSAPs to remote public safety dispatch centers), if necessary
• Increased aggregation and sharing of data, resources, procedures, and standards to improve emergency response
• Maximized use of available public capital and operating cost savings for emergency communications services
• Promotion of increased coordination and partnerships within the emergency response community.

The NG9-1-1 system provides an enhanced 9-1-1 service to the public allowing callers to request emergency assistance by sending text, images, and video (in addition to voice) from several different kinds of access networks and communications devices. The USDOT NG9-1-1 CONOPS defines the NG9-1-1 system as—

“.. . an evolutionary transition to enable the general public to make a 9-1-1 “call” from any wired, wireless, or IP-based device, and allow the emergency services community to take advantage of E9-1-1 call delivery and other functions through new internetworking technologies based on open standards.”[13]

9-1-1 Authorities will need to deploy NG9-1-1 solutions that accommodate legacy components as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Composite NG9-1-1 High-Level System Architecture[14]

Stakeholders That Will Be Key to the NG9-1-1 Transition

Transition to the NG9-1-1 system will be affected by a large and varied group of stakeholders ranging from the general public and local emergency responder agencies to federal health, security, and emergency management agencies. Early and continued participation in NG9-1-1 planning by all 9-1-1 stakeholder groups is critical to successfully deploying the NG9-1-1 system. Although the boundaries of the USDOT NG9-1-1 Initiative are limited to the delivery and processing of the 9-1-1 call, this document addresses all stakeholders, including service providers, responder agencies, legislative and regulatory bodies, SDOs, and non-governmental organizations (e.g., professional and industry associations, and citizen and special interest advocacy organizations) that can directly or indirectly influence the transition to NG9-1-1. To better understand the fundamental roles and functions of each 9-1-1 stakeholder, Table 1 below provides a high-level description of each stakeholder type. In this context, “type of stakeholder” refers to an entire stakeholder category rather than individual entities within that category (e.g., responder agencies versus individual first responders).

Table 1: 9-1-1 Stakeholder Types

Type of Stakeholder	Symbol	Description
9-1-1 Authorities and PSAP Administrators		A 9-1-1 authority has jurisdiction over and/or supports a particular 9-1-1 system. The 9-1-1 authority could be a county/parish or city government, a special 9-1-1 or emergency communications district, a council of governments, an individual PSAP, a state agency, or other similar body. The 9-1-1 authority generally manages human resource requirements and activities, oversees service delivery, performs high-level database management and support functions, oversees funding and procurement of supporting infrastructure and services, establishes standard operating procedures (SOP) and operational policies, contracts with vendors and 9-1-1 service providers, and is responsible for security at the PSAPs. Along with the 9-1-1 Authority, the PSAP Administrator directs the overall operation of a PSAP and is responsible for the direct supervision, training, and administration of the PSAP’s staff. The PSAP Administrator may be responsible for the maintenance of PSAP call-taking equipment and supporting peripherals. The PSAP Administrator may be responsible for the PSAP’s budget and staff support.
State Government (Legislative and Regulatory Bodies)		Legislative bodies within each state draft and pass legislation for the welfare and benefit of the public. To ensure that the provisions of the legislation are implemented and enforced, regulatory bodies (e.g., Public Utility Commissions) may write draft regulations that are open to public comment but binding on the public once promulgated in final form. The regulatory body itself or a court having the appropriate jurisdiction may impose sanctions for regulatory infractions.
Federal Government Agencies and Regulatory Bodies		The U.S. Congress and federal government agencies are responsible for establishing national policies and funding, providing leadership, and promoting coordination and communications between agencies and organizations involved with 9-1-1 services. The most prominent government organizations involved in 9-1-1 include the USDOT Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USDOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) –National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) National 9-1-1 Implementation and Coordination Office (ICO), Department of Justice (DOJ), FCC, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Non-Governmental Organizations		Non-governmental organizations (e.g., agencies and organizations that are considered part of the private sector) play a critical role in the implementation of the NG9-1-1 system because of their involvement in identifying the needs of their membership, thereby shaping the products and services used by consumers and PSAPs who use the NG9-1-1 system. Examples of non-governmental organizations include SDOs, Public Safety Communications Organizations and Associations, other professional and industry associations, citizen and special interest advocacy organizations, private emergency response and recovery organizations, and research and academia.
Service and Equipment Providers and Third-Party Call Centers		Service and equipment providers are responsible for developing, supplying, and sometimes maintaining the hardware, software, and other equipment used by PSAPs in transferring 9-1-1 calls; providing public access to 9-1-1 services, physical and network access, and telecommunications and IT infrastructure equipment; and helping to maintain the data and information necessary to route and deliver emergency calls. Types of service and equipment providers include 9-1-1 service providers, service access providers, service application providers, and equipment suppliers. Third-party call centers receive voice, video, text, images, and other data originating from the public via various services, such as automobile telematics, relay services, medical alert, poison control hotlines, alarm monitoring, and satellite telecommunications services.
Responder Agencies		Responder agencies—dispatch entities, law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, supplemental responders, and beneficiary entities—have a legal or consensual obligation to respond to or obtain information from emergency calls to support comprehensive incident management.
General Public		The general public relies heavily on the ability to access 9-1-1 service with full functionality through any communications device during an emergency. The public expects a timely response from the emergency responder agencies once a call is made to 9-1-1 and determines the success of the 9-1-1 service based on the response time. To date, the general public can make 9-1-1 calls through wireline telephone, wireless telephone, TDD/TTY over wireline, and VoIP, and indirectly through third-party call centers associated with telematics and relay services.

How NG9-1-1 Could be Implemented Across the Nation: Potential Deployment Approaches

What are the Potential Paths to NG9-1-1 Deployment?

As defined by the NG9-1-1 Initiative, the NG9-1-1 system is expected to be an interconnected system of local and regional emergency services networks (“system of systems”)[15]. However, the boundaries of emergency service networks may vary, depending on local requirements and organizational frameworks. Consequently, although the architecture and underlying requirements of NG9-1-1 will be relatively consistent, it is expected that there will be several implementation paths to NG9-1-1—all with merit.

Transition to NG9-1-1 is also expected to be evolutionary process, involving technological, economic, and institutional change. In some cases, the path to NG9-1-1 implementation will depend on the underlying infrastructure and state of the PSAP and 9-1-1 Authorities. In other cases, the transition to NG9-1-1 may depend on the ability of originating service networks to deliver NG9-1-1 calls via native IP-based infrastructure to jurisdictions that are prepared to receive those calls.

Regardless of the specific evolutionary steps, it is expected that NG9-1-1 system implementation within the public sector will likely follow one of two general frameworks for deployment:

• Coordinated, Intergovernmental Approach: Planned and coordinated deployments of NG9-1-1 capabilities that are governed by statewide 9-1-1 Authorities, regional Authorities, or informal mechanisms that enable a cooperative deployment.
• Independent, Unilateral Approach: Decentralized deployments of NG9-1-1 capabilities by local jurisdictions through piloting independent initiatives.

The following sections describe the key elements of these approaches, the assumptions under each approach, as well as an analysis of the transition issues that are specific to that implementation approach. It is expected that several transition issues will need to be resolved regardless of the specific deployment approach. Transition issues that are independent of a jurisdiction’s implementation approach are addressed in the section entitled Strategies and Options for NG9-1-1 Going Forward.

The Coordinated, Intergovernmental Approach

What Is This Deployment Approach?

Under a coordinated, intergovernmental deployment approach, planned and coordinated deployments of NG9-1-1 capabilities are governed by statewide 9-1-1 authorities, regional authorities, or informal mechanisms that enable a cooperative deployment. Over time, many states have already developed intergovernmental or interjurisdictional mechanisms to coordinate, plan, and help guide the delivery of 9-1-1 services across jurisdictions. These mechanisms range from regional and metropolitan institutional frameworks to statewide programs vested in state government. The goals of these efforts have largely been designed to help address consistent and coordinated 9-1-1 service delivery throughout regions and states, along with the need to address telecommunication services that are becoming much more mobile and complicated. While most of these efforts are supported through enabling legislation, in some cases, local 9-1-1 Authorities have worked out other, less formal ways to address the need for coordination and joint planning.

Within a coordinated, intergovernmental approach, there are several ways an NG9-1-1 system could be implemented. While all involve intergovernmental coordination and planning to some degree, they vary in institutional arrangements, support, and authority based on a variety of factors related to the historical relationship of state and local government and the evolution of 9-1-1 services within the states involved. Generally, this approach can take one of three forms: 1) single statewide 9-1-1 authority; 2) regional authority; and/or 3) informal mechanisms that enable a cooperative NG9-1-1 deployment. These are illustrated in Figure 2 and are defined below.

Figure 2: Types of Coordinated/Intergovernmental NG9-1-1 Deployments

• Single Statewide 9-1-1 Authority: Where such authorities exist, they are usually created by statute, executive order, or, operate as a function of existing authority (like a state utility commission, for example). Authority generally covers both funding and implementation, although the latter ranges from statewide systems and outright authority over PSAP service migration and enhancement, to limited powers of encouragement, coordination, and guidance of same.
• Regional Authorities Without a Statewide Authority: Some states do not provide for state-level 9-1-1 Authorities; rather they authorize local governments to join together in regional efforts to coordinate service delivery and share resources. That authorization may occur through specific enabling legislation (directed toward 9-1-1), or be a by-product of existing joint powers/inter-local cooperation legislation. In any case, such organizations have a legal basis of existence and may operate as political subdivisions of the state.
• Informal Mechanism, Local Initiated Coordination: Generally, local initiatives coordinate 9-1-1 services and enhancement across traditional jurisdictional boundaries, where more formal mechanisms do not exist. These efforts vary from endeavors focused on metropolitan regions, to statewide initiatives. Normally they are more informal in nature (e.g., conducted through regional and state associations, and other cooperative endeavors), but can be quite effective depending on the organizations involved.

What Are Some of Assumptions and Key Dependencies of This Approach?

The common theme among all these forms of implementation is the desire to coordinate 9-1-1 service delivery between 9-1-1 Authorities. That may be as simple as working together in a structured, cooperative way, to employing a higher level coordinating body with the authority to ensure that coordination. The desire to coordinate does add an additional factor to NG9-1-1 migration. Authorities must balance local initiative and timing with that of the greater good. Consequently, decision authority, goals, and priorities are shared to some extent, and the process may take longer to implement. On the other hand, the process does provide the opportunity to share resources, deploy new and enhanced multi-jurisdictional service arrangements, and deal with emerging challenges in more effective ways (e.g., transferring 9-1-1 calls among jurisdictions, providing backup and mutual support, addressing larger scale emergency preparedness and homeland security needs, etc.).

What Would This Deployment Approach Look Like?

The State of Springfield has a statutory 9-1-1 function assigned to the state’s General Services Commission (GSC). Under the statute, the GSC cannot force local governments to implement 9-1-1 services, but it can help fund, guide, and encourage such activity. In this state, there is a large metropolitan region with one central city and numerous suburban municipalities. The statute allows these governmental entities to join together in a multijurisdictional emergency communications district. While that district does not have the authority to directly operate PSAPs across the region, it can assess 9-1-1 fees and help fund such operation, along with providing connecting infrastructure, service, and support. Working together with the state, the district works out a plan for the region to collectively migrate to NG9-1-1 and to support state needs for public safety radio interoperability, emergency preparedness, and poison control.

In this scenario, the state provides statewide perspective and coordination, some additional funding to ensure that state needs are met, and state procured backbone infrastructure to facilitate the process. The district provides regional connecting infrastructure through an Emergency Services IP-based Network, facilitates expanded and focused service arrangements between local 9-1-1 Authorities, and supports regional database and related functions. The local 9-1-1 Authorities operate the PSAPs involved and provide emergency response services.

Which Transition Issues Are Different with This Approach Than with Other Approaches?

Several issues will be different for the coordinated, intergovernmental approach because of the level of complexity or the opportunities that are available.

• Governance and Policy: Underlying the coordinated, intergovernmental approach is the need for coordination among multiple 9-1-1 Authorities. With more entities involved, the roles and responsibilities and intergovernmental arrangements for the NG9-1-1 system will need to be defined across jurisdictional boundaries and between new partnerships. This is more complicated than the independent, unilateral approach because of the potential need to determine which entity is responsible for what, how to share different components of NG9-1-1, and how to address liability and confidentiality protection across state lines (assuming that liability and confidentiality protection may be different for each state)
• Standards and Technology: With the connection between multiple PSAPs across jurisdictional boundaries, the control of system access and security may be more difficult to manage because of the number of entities involved. Furthermore, new processes and procedures may need to be defined to include all the jurisdictions and entities involved. In addition, the protocols and business rules for call routing and prioritization will be different and/or potentially more complicated with the number of PSAPs and jurisdictional coverage area involved and the number of potential options available to route calls (e.g., based on type of communications). However, it also provides the opportunity to consolidate PSAPs or promote the usage of “virtual PSAPs.”[16]
• Funding: Coordinating the implementation of 9-1-1 service delivery enables many 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAP Administrators to share various components of the NG9-1-1 system. This may provide opportunities for cost sharing and shared services among the 9-1-1 Authorities or other entities involved (e.g., emergency responders).

Independent, Unilateral Approach

What Is This Deployment Approach?

An Independent, Unilateral Deployment Approach to NG9-1-1 implementation entails a decentralized deployment of NG9-1-1 capabilities by local jurisdictions through piloting independent initiatives. The basis for this approach is that historically and traditionally, 9-1-1 services have been largely a local or municipal governmental responsibility. Indeed, the first assumption cited in the USDOT NG9-1-1 CONOPS notes:

“. . . that the fundamental local institutional and operational frameworks for 9-1-1 services will remain in effect. That is, local government agencies will serve as answering points to receive, assess, and redirect 9-1-1 emergency calls from the general public to appropriate responders for help.”[17]

In some states, that historical focus, coupled with a theme of strong local control of communications centers, has ensured that the responsibility for 9-1-1 service remains there as well., That may be difficult to change even with the need for larger scale geographical coordination and planning continuing to grow.

Consequently, this deployment framework will be found in a state with a 9-1-1 statutory environment that places 9-1-1 implementation responsibility solely on a local jurisdiction (e.g., at the township, city, or country/parish level). This type of situation can also exist where there is no state or regional governmental entity responsible for 9-1-1 services or where 9-1-1 statutes explicitly provide funding and implementation responsibility and authority to the local governments involved.

What Are Some of Assumptions and Key Dependencies of This Approach?

Under an independent, unilateral deployment approach, it is assumed that no other interjurisdictional coordination mechanism or initiative exists, and that efforts to migrate to NG9-1-1 will be limited to the separate initiatives by local jurisdictions. While the authorities may migrate to the NG9-1-1 system as described above, such improvements are limited to their jurisdiction and involve little if any service/infrastructure sharing or interconnection with neighboring entities (or, for that matter, with any other jurisdiction). Consequently, implementation in this scenario depends only on local initiative and resources and does not require time or effort to coordinate with a third part, nor the potential compromise that may require. Priorities can be set and migration managed as the jurisdiction best sees fit.

The general public would be able to make a 9-1-1 call from any kind of device, and call takers would be able to take advantage of other NG9-1-1 functionality at the PSAP, including expanded call treatment, access to additional information and data, and enhanced support of emergency response and incident management. Infrastructure and resource sharing is limited to the local public safety agency itself, as are the opportunities for innovative and expanded service arrangements with neighboring jurisdictions. While the authority may be able to implement new operational approaches like the so-called “virtual PSAP,”[18] arrangements involving other jurisdictions (e.g., coordinated incident management, support and backup, emergency response, etc.) are necessarily limited by the willingness of the jurisdictions to work together.

What Would This Deployment Approach Look Like?

“Central City” in “Washington” County operates one PSAP and, under state statute, supports and funds it. Recently the City has made the decision to implement NG9-1-1. Working with a variety of infrastructure, equipment, and service providers, the City procured and deployed an IP-enabled NG9-1-1 system that offers many of the features described by nationally accepted next generation standards. They can accept 9-1-1 calls of all types (both in origination, and in format), process those calls in accordance with established business rules, and pass on enhanced data and information useful for emergency response and incident management.

However, based on long-standing precedent and history, the City does not coordinate much of what it does with the Sheriff’s Office and the County. Inside the City, it is their business. Outside, it is the County’s business. Nor does Central City work much with the “City of Farfield” in the neighboring county. Over the years, Central City has always been more progressive and reluctant to impair that progress by trying to do something in concert with a less progressive community like Farfield. Consequently, the City does not consider an option provided by the local community college to share in the cost of multifunctional IP-access network serving both counties and both cities, and deploys its own one-purpose, dedicated network. Nor does the City attempt to work out enhanced mutual aid and service arrangements with either Washington County or the City of Farfield. The City feels that such arrangements are generally more detrimental than beneficial, and, after all, it is able to receive and successfully serve the majority of calls it does receive.

Which Transition Issues Are Different with This Approach Than with Other Approaches?

Several issues will be different for the independent, unilateral approach because of the level of complexity and the opportunities that are available.

• Governance and Policy: With the independent, unilateral approach, it is expected that the 9-1-1 Authority responsible for a specific local jurisdictional area will remain the same, which means that governance and existing policies may either remain unchanged or only slightly change to accommodate NG9-1-1. In addition, it may be difficult to coordinate large-scale emergency response events because of the limited coordination between PSAPs across jurisdictional boundaries.
• Standards and Technology: As 9-1-1 Authorities upgrade to NG9-1-1 without consideration for neighboring jurisdictions, it may be more complicated in the future to coordinate call treatment processes and response efforts that involve many jurisdictions. Call routing process and other SOPs may not exist or do not take into account neighboring jurisdictions to support the coordinated efforts.
• Funding: As noted in the NG9-1-1 Transition Issues Report, funding may be limited because of the lack of priority of 9-1-1 upgrades and outdated funding models and allocation mechanisms. Consequently, implementing NG9-1-1 independently without the ability to share costs may make it difficult to identify sufficient funding to fully upgrade to NG9-1-1. Furthermore, the federal government is promoting public safety entities to coordinate upgrading efforts with neighboring jurisdictions to reduce cost through resource sharing, as well as to encourage interoperability.

Coordination and Implementation at a National Level

The vision for NG9-1-1 calls for an interconnected, nationwide implementation. To be sure, the USDOT NG9-1-1 Project CONOPS document, for example, speaks to “. . . a vision of a nationally interoperable emergency services internetwork.” Consequently, this vision implies some degree of national leadership for the deployment of NG9-1-1—especially when compared to the implementation of E9-1-1 nationwide over the last decade. In recent legislation, Congress stated, “Enhanced 9-1-1 is a high national priority, and it requires Federal leadership, working in cooperation with state and local governments and with the numerous organizations dedicated to delivering emergency communications services.”[19] Without focus and leadership at a national level, NG9-1-1 could face challenges in realizing its goal of a national interconnected system.

There is no single best national approach to coordinating NG9-1-1 implementation at a national level. Potential stakeholders range from invested federal agencies like USDOT, NTIA and the FCC, to national associations like NENA, APCO and others. USDOT and NTIA jointly support the federal Implementation Coordination Office (ICO). Pursuant to existing legislation, the ICO defines its mission as “. . . [providing] leadership and coordination of comprehensive and technologically-enhanced [9-1-1] services.” Specific responsibilities include improving coordination and communication between Federal, State and local emergency communication systems, emergency personnel, public safety organizations, telecommunications carriers, and telecommunications equipment manufacturers and vendors. Also included are the development, collection and dissemination of information concerning practices, procedures and technology used in implementation of E9-1-1 services. Pending legislation would clarify the ICO’s responsibility to include support for the 9-1-1 community’s “migration to an IP-enabled emergency network.”

At a higher level, the federal government also has a stakeholder interest in the connection between 9-1-1 and federal programs and services, including things like public safety radio interoperability, transportation safety and incident management. Beyond that, organizations like NENA, APCO and NASNA have a national association member interest in improving 9-1-1 services and migrating to next generation systems. The same is true of a variety of standards development organizations. All of this would benefit from some degree of national coordination and oversight.

Finally, there is the potential for a national organization to foster migration of 9-1-1 authorities and PSAPs using a national-level IP backbone and/or national-level NG9-1-1 services (e.g., similar to the implementation of National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System). However, this involvement may or may not occur. Initially, commercial service providers will likely provide the bulk of national or regional level IP-networks for the NG9-1-1 System; however, the implementation of these networks may take several years to fully resolve the regulatory issues involving security, database, and access rights.

Transition Issues Beyond the Deployment Approaches

The extent to which 9-1-1 Authorities or local jurisdiction move toward NG9-1-1 will be affected by underlying funding, operational structure, governance and policy, and the availability of appropriate standards and technology for IP access network infrastructure and next generation services and functions. As previously discussed, there are two potential deployment frameworks that 9-1-1 Authorities and other governing entities can employ to move from the current 9-1-1 System to NG9-1-1. Although the complexity of the issues may differ between the two frameworks, there are overarching issues that 9-1-1 Authorities and other governing entities will face before and during NG9-1-1 implementation regardless of which deployment framework is followed. High-level discussions of transition issues and associated strategic options have been identified in the following sections to assist 9-1-1 stakeholders in moving forward to implement NG9-1-1.

Strategies and Options for NG9-1-1 Going Forward

The Key NG9-1-1 Transition Elements

Although there are specific challenges and decisions for states, 9-1-1 Authorities, and PSAPs when choosing an implementation path, there are also national and local issues that will be need to be resolved irrespective of the transition approach. Consequently, the identification of broader strategic options for progressing toward NG9-1-1 has been defined in this document to help the emergency communications community and local, state, and federal policy makers address critical elements for success as they plan and implement NG9-1-1 nationwide. The NG9-1-1 Transition Issues Report identified many of the key challenges that the Nation—at all levels of government—needs to overcome to ensure the achievement of the NG9-1-1 vision. These challenges influenced the design of potential strategies captured as high-level transition elements. These strategic elements represent the translation of the broad sense of direction stemming from the transition planning process into a practical set of options that can move the Nation to successfully implement NG9-1-1. They are the culmination of the transition planning process and describe the strategic agenda for the Nation as derived from the analyses of key transition issues.

Within this document, the NG9-1-1 agenda for transition is defined by the following strategic elements: Funding, Operations, Standards and Technology, and Governance and Policy. Making progress in all aspects of these strategic elements is essential because the elements are largely interdependent. Therefore, to gain a true picture of a region's transition to NG9-1-1, progress along all of the elements of should be considered together. For example, when a 9-1-1 Authority begins to procure new infrastructure, that jurisdiction should plan training and conduct testing to make the best use of that equipment. These elements are briefly described in Table 2.

Table 2: NG9-1-1 Strategic Elements

Strategic Elements	Description
	Most State and local Authorities obtain funding by imposing and collecting fees on telecommunications services such as landline, wireless, and IP-enabled voice services. Jurisdictions must be willing to commit the resources necessary to ensure the success of any next generation effort. For example, ongoing maintenance and support of the system must be planned for and incorporated into the budget.
	Operations include PSAP operations, as well as broader standard operating procedures (SOPs), formal written guidelines and/or instructions for calls and incidents (e.g., PSAP goes down), as well as training, exercises, and operational optimization (e.g., business process reengineering, change management).
	Progress in each of the other elements is essential to proper planning, use, and implementation of NG9-1-1 technology, and should drive technology procurement. Technology is highly dependent on existing infrastructure within a region and/or what is available to states and PSAPs from service providers. Multiple technology solutions may be required to support unique situations.
	Governance and policy includes leadership and planning—both key to entities transitioning to NG9-1-1. For example, many regions face difficulties related to political issues and the relationships within and across jurisdictions and disciplines. Leadership can help to work through these challenging internal and jurisdictional conflicts as well as set the stage for a region's commitment to the NG9-1-1 effort. Success in this element is also based on public’s awareness, use, and satisfaction with NG9-1-1 services.

Understanding the NG9-1-1 Transition Elements and Options

As part of the transition planning process, the strategic elements described in this document will also signal which organizations will be responsible for responding to them and thus guide future options, decisions, and strategy. In the following sections of the document, each strategic element for the transition to NG9-1-1 will be described in terms of what the strategic issues are, what has already been accomplished to address these issues, and what could still be done to address the issue. As illustrated in Figure 3 below, the potential options to address NG9-1-1 issues will provide a potential indicator of which stakeholder has the power to take future action.

Figure 3: Example of NG9-1-1 Transition Options

Strategic Options for NG9-1-1 Funding

Background

Despite emerging requirements for the next generation of 9-1-1 services and capabilities, 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAPs throughout the Nation may struggle to finance new systems and capabilities while continuing to operate their current systems. Where existing revenue streams fall short, elected officials and government budget experts may face difficult choices when setting public investment priorities. These and other considerations make the funding environment for NG9-1-1 complex—recognizing and addressing these factors will be key to the successful migration to NG9-1-1:

• NG9-1-1 as a Fiscal and Strategic Priority.Emergency communications networks and NG9-1-1 systems are costly. If dedicated and sustainable funding mechanisms are not available, these projects will face competition for funding from other worthy public projects. Many states, however, lack forward-looking strategic plans or roadmaps for planning and building out the foundations of NG9-1-1. Capital and strategic planning is critical if decision-makers are to be armed with the facts they need to justify high-priority emergency communications projects.
• Adequacy of Funding Mechanisms for NG9-1-1. The concept of a 9-1-1 subscriber fee on telephone services remains virtually unchanged today from its inception. There is little consistency among and within states on 9-1-1 surcharge rates, which often differ based on the service type (e.g., wireless, wireline, or VoIP) or the jurisdiction for which the fee is being collected.
• NG9-1-1 Cost Allocation and Cost-Reduction Strategies. In an NG9-1-1 environment, allocating costs will be a challenge, especially for costs related to shared networks, interfaces between systems, and costs for shared facilities and resources. Determining the appropriate allocation of costs will depend on the unique circumstances of a particular NG9-1-1 implementation.
• Diversion of Dedicated 9-1-1 Funding Needed for NG9-1-1. Although many states and local jurisdictions assess a surcharge or fee for 9-1-1 services, the funds collected are not always used solely for 9-1-1 systems or PSAP maintenance and upgrades. There have been numerous, highly publicized instances of diversion of funds for non-9-1-1 uses such as balancing state budgets and funding state police. If states and local jurisdictions continue to divert 9-1-1 funds for other purposes, it will be more challenging and take longer to transition to NG9-1-1.

What Has Been Done?

Recently, some progress has been made to partially resolve elements of the NG9-1-1 funding issue:

• Identification of Alternative Funding Models for NG9-1-1. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Next Generation Partner Program published a report. Funding 9-1-1 into the Next Generation: An Overview of NG9-1-1 Funding Model Options for Consideration presents several alternative funding models for consideration while outlining the benefits and potential barriers to the proposed models. As noted in this initial study, funding models may not be exclusive because the best funding model for a given deployment scenario may be a combination of several ideas.
• Federal Legislation on 9-1-1 Fees. The Congress is considering legislation that makes clear that states and localities can impose fees on VoIP and future commercial mobile services, but that such funds must be expended in support of 9-1-1 and E9-1-1 and "enhancements to such services," which would include NG9-1-1.
• Potential of Federal Grants and Loans for NG9-1-1. Increased interest in existing and proposed federal grant programs on the part of state and 9-1-1 Authorities is one sign that awareness regarding these alternatives is increasing. Grant programs administered by USDOT and the Department of Commerce are now being considered as a source of NG9-1-1 funding. Legislation under consideration in the Congress also seeks to broaden eligible use of federal PSAP grants to include "the migration to an IP-enabled emergency network" in addition to Phase II wireless E9-1-1. Legislation has also been introduced that would enable state or local governments to borrow from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to expand or improve 9-1-1 access and interoperable emergency communications.
• State Awareness and Action. While changes in funding priorities have been slow in coming, other developments suggest that the issue of 9-1-1 fees and sustainable revenue are being recognized at the state and local levels. State legislative and executive bodies are more frequently considering the alteration of legislation that would address declining funding and changing call patterns.

What Could Be Done to Address NG9-1-1 Funding?

Additional options are available at all levels of government to address potential funding shortfalls that could affect nationwide migration to NG9-1-1. These options include potential strategies or paths that would—

• Ensure NG9-1-1 upgrades are considered a fiscal priority for states and local jurisdictions and the Federal Government
• Transform the current funding mechanisms to resolve the following issues:
  • Diminishing revenue base
  • Disparities with cost recovery
  • Funding allocation models for shared resources
• Ensure 9-1-1 funds are preserved for 9-1-1 and emergency communication systems.
• Ensure NG9-1-1 upgrades are considered a fiscal priority for states and local jurisdictions and the Federal Government

Although the Federal Government considers emergency communications systems as critical infrastructure, it is a question whether the commitment exists at all levels of government to make migration to NG9-1-1 a fiscal priority. Gaining that commitment requires 9-1-1 Authorities to educate decision-makers and the public about the connection between NG9-1-1 planning and the public’s continued access to lifesaving public safety services.

One of the key lessons learned from past E9-1-1 implementations is the role effective statewide coordination plays in focusing priorities for funding and support of the PSAPs. Applying this lesson to NG9-1-1 at the state level, governors can help lead statewide implementation of NG9-1-1 by designating a single point of contact for deployment, if one does not already exist. Such a coordinator would have authority to oversee implementation statewide resources. The Federal Government may also be able to help by encouraging centralized coordination and providing access to federal public safety grant programs. With access to public safety grant programs, state and local governments that do not believe they have the resources to dedicate to NG9-1-1 may have other options to obtain funding to continue planning and making progress as opposed to postponing or delaying NG9-1-1 deployment activities. Table 3 outlines some of the options government can take to help make NG9-1-1 a fiscal priority.

Transform current 9-1-1 funding mechanisms to resolve—

• Diminishing revenue base
• Disparities with cost recovery
• Funding allocation models for shared resources

With the current revenue mechanisms and funding distribution, funding for NG9-1-1 implementation will be limited and further complicated during tight budget times. As more consumers abandon their wireline services and move to using wireless and VoIP technologies for their primary communications, overall revenues from the current funding model are decreasing. Consequently, changes are needed to sustain existing services while also advancing toward an IP-based NG9-1-1 system. Options that may be considered include creating technology-neutral revenue sources that reflect the complexity and diversity of the current telecommunications services and can more easily accommodate future services.

Cost recovery and cost allocation models for NG9-1-1 will also vary by implementation approach. NG9-1-1 involves moving away from a closed and dedicated networks to a system with shared networks, databases, and applications in which costs related to the NG9-1-1 system are shared among all participants, some of which may be private sector entities or non-public safety governmental agencies. State governments and regulators can encourage shared services while also examining funding and cost recovery mechanisms and options. Table 4 outlines some of the options government can take to improve NG9-1-1 funding levels and mechanisms.

Ensure 9-1-1 funds are preserved for 9-1-1 and emergency communication systems

The diversion of funding for 9-1-1 implementation is an ongoing issue that is not solely related to NG9-1-1 implementation. Regardless, if funds dedicated for 9-1-1 continue to be used for unrelated purposes then migration to NG9-1-1 will likely be affected. States and local governments that collect funds for 9-1-1 should use those funds solely for the purposes for which they were collected. In addition, if surplus funds should accumulate, these funds could be reserved for implementation of NG9-1-1 and 9-1-1’s portion of an emergency service internetwork.

At the federal level, the Congress could consider providing an incentive by withholding federal 9-1-1 grant monies from states and political subdivisions that misappropriate, misallocate, and divert 9-1-1 monies from their intended purpose. A related option would be to require monitoring funds collection and usage and publishing information regarding the diversion of 9-1-1 funds from intended purposes. Table 5 outlines some of the options government can take to eliminate diversion of 9-1-1 dedicated funds.

Why Does It Matter?

Funding for NG9-1-1 and emergency communications systems must be a national priority. Approximately half of the Nation’s public safety agencies plan to replace their existing radio systems within the next 5 years. Along with public safety radio systems, 9-1-1 systems will also need to be upgraded as the public continues to adopt, as their primary means of communications, newer IP-based technologies that cannot access 9-1-1. Furthermore, to promote information sharing among emergency responders, 9-1-1 systems need to be on a technology platform similar to the systems used by public safety agencies. If funding impediments are not addressed, call takers and public safety agencies will become ill-equipped to handle current and future public safety communication requirements. Sufficient and sustained funding assures effective emergency communications for citizens in need and the public safety officials responding to those needs.

For Additional Information

As the NG9-1-1 system begins to become reality, additional information regarding funding can be found at—

• 9-1-1 Industry Alliance: 2008 Study on the Health of the US9-1-1 System
• NENA: Funding 9-1-1 Into the Next Generation: An Overview of NG9-1-1 Funding Model Options for Consideration

Strategic Options forNG9-1-1 Operations

Background

As implementation of the NG9-1-1 architecture continues, PSAPs will have to determine how to modify their existing practices and procedures and resources to implement and accommodate NG9-1-1 services. Several operational issues facing Authorities and PSAPs must be addressed, including—

• New Expectations and Responsibilities of Call Takers. As a result of the introduction of NG9-1-1 technologies, PSAP operations will face new challenges associated with the increase in real-time multimedia information—text, still images, or video in addition to voice—passing between a person needing assistance and the call taker. The increased quantity of multimedia data will enhance and expand existing call-taking functions. Receipt of calls from IP-based communication devices will test call takers’ ability to maintain their quick and accurate response to emergency situations.
• Broader Operational Responsibilities for 9-1-1 Authorities. In addition to its effects on PSAP call takers, the NG9-1-1 environment will influence how 9-1-1 Authorities support PSAP operations and coordinate with other nearby 9-1-1 Authorities. IP-based communications create the potential for more seamless resource- and workload-sharing among formerly distinct PSAPs and 9-1-1 Authorities. 9-1-1 Authorities, especially those overseeing multiple PSAPs, will confront the challenge of managing a wider set of shared resources than is typical in the current system.
• New Responsibilities and Challenges for PSAP Administrators.[20] At the local level, responsibilities of PSAP Administrators will likely expand, particularly with regard to configuring the NG9-1-1 system for their respective PSAPs. Although PSAP Administrators may receive support and guidance from governing 9-1-1 Authorities, at the local level, these individuals will be on the front line for ensuring their specific facilities, staff, and resources meet the requirements and expectations necessary for implementing NG9-1-1.
• Training and Certification Needs Will Expand Sharply. Although training programs for new call takers vary in duration, content, and format from PSAP to PSAP, the need for new training methodologies and curricula will become evident as NG9-1-1 technology is introduced. Continuing education (retraining in some cases) for experienced staff will be critical to the success of any NG9-1-1 implementation. Besides operational staff, technical and support staff will need the skills to configure, maintain, and troubleshoot advanced networks, systems, and components.

What Has Been Done?

There has been recent progress in addressing NG9-1-1 operational issues:

• Education and Training for Call Takers. Future training needs and the framework for the curriculum needed for NG 9-1-1 training have been key topics of discussion throughout the PSAP community and public safety associations. As a starting point, existing education and training offerings and services are being reviewed by public safety communications organizations and associations to determine potential gaps and recommendations for training in the future.
• Increased Awareness of NG9-1-1 Technology and Time Frames. NG9-1-1 is still considered a “new topic” by many in public safety communications. Associations and organizations have been delivering orientations and informational sessions at trade shows, conferences, and other meetings in an effort to educate communities and public safety personnel about what NG9-1-1 is, the features it can provide, and reference information to assist the locales in planning for NG9-1-1 implementation.
• Standard Operating Procedures. 9-1-1 Authorities, trade associations, and other stakeholder groups are examining such issues as establishing requirements for development of remote PSAP functions, SOPs for handling 9-1-1 calls that are delivered with pictures and video, and SOPs for language services in a pre-next generation and next generation environment. NENA’s Accessibility and Standard Operating Procedures Committees’[21] activities are developing requirements and protocols for delivery and handling of text messaging.
• NG9-1-1 Operations and Human Resources Requirements. 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAP Administrators are beginning to examine NG9-1-1 hiring, staffing, and scheduling issues. Work has also started in NG9-1-1 contingency planning, including backup, overflow, and redundancy issues. This contingency planning, along with development of requirements for “virtual PSAPs,” is intended to assist PSAPs in building a comprehensive plan to test all aspects of their critical NG9-1-1 components through drills and exercises.

What Could Be Done to Address NG9-1-1 Operational Issues?

Additional options are available for stakeholders to address potential challenges that could affect PSAP operations. These options include potential strategies or paths that would—

• Prepare and train call takers to handle increased quantity and quality of information available with a NG9-1-1 call
• Prepare 9-1-1 Authorities to handle NG9-1-1 system administration, including configuration management, database management, quality assurance, and SOPs
• Prepare 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAP Administrators to handle contingency planning and use of “virtual PSAPs.”

Prepare and train call takers to handle increased quantity and quality of information available with a NG9-1-1 call

Although it is anticipated that the NG9-1-1 system will include human machine interface (HMI)[22] solutions to assist call takers in answering and processing call data, call takers may still need to analyze and make decisions regarding what information should be transferred to the dispatchers and responder agencies based on their training and experience. Consequently, in the NG9-1-1 environment, call takers will need to be trained to address call-handling activities such as answering multiple text messages from different callers during the same time period, and understanding text message forms such as the use of abbreviations, symbols, and short word sets. To date, many TTY/TDD 9-1-1 calls are not differentiated between voice 9-1-1 calls; however, with the NG9-1-1 System incoming calls can be divided between voice and TTY/TDD calls so that an assigned set of PSAPs or call takers within a PSAP would handle text messaging, while others handle voice calls.

To address these needs, associations like NENA and Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) can work together to develop the model curriculum, protocols, and SOPs. These efforts can be supported through state and 9-1-1 authority training guidelines and approved training programs. PSAP Administrators will ultimately be responsible for implementing training and ensuring compliance, so their participation and feedback in the development of such material and recommendations will be key in refining and improving training and performance of NG9-1-1 call takers.

Prepare 9-1-1 Authorities to handle NG9-1-1 system administration, including configuration management, database management, quality assurance, and SOPs

Much of the traditional 9-1-1 infrastructure is part of the existing telecommunications network, and its maintenance, upkeep, and oversight is typically handled by the dominant wireline telephone service provider in the region. Within NG9-1-1, the responsibility for the infrastructure, including its maintenance, upkeep, and oversight will likely fall under the oversight of a 9-1-1 Authority at the local, regional, or state level. Consequently, as NG9-1-1 is deployed, 9-1-1 Authorities will need to adjust and adapt to a broader set of responsibilities for far more complex technology systems.

To ensure 9-1-1 Authorities are able to support and manage networks and system resources that are shared across PSAP service areas, it will be important for entities like public safety organizations and the Federal Government to consider developing necessary tools and guidance. In some cases, these tools may be best practices for system configuration and administration. 9-1-1 Authorities, in turn, will need to establish the appropriate mechanisms and structure to accomplish the database and network functions necessary to support the NG9-1-1 enterprise.

Prepare 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAP Administrators to handle contingency planning and use of “virtual PSAPs”

NG9-1-1 includes virtual PSAP capabilities, permitting flexible management for day-to-day operations and for disasters and major events. There are operational issues involved with this new concept and increased responsibilities for 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAP Administrators. For example, the concept of a virtual PSAP is one in which NG9-1-1 equipment serves multiple PSAPs with each PSAP having its own privileges and with a global administrator. These multiple PSAPs may be part of an intrastate or even interstate region. Consequently, in an NG9-1-1 environment, where physical geographic location is no longer a limiting factor, virtual PSAPs and networks of PSAPs provide additional potential resiliency that can be leveraged with contingency planning. To address these issues, organizations like NENA could provide valuable insight and guidance to 9-1-1 Authorities and PSAPs.

Why Does It Matter?

NG9-1-1 will involve complex systems that may exceed existing system capacity, resources, and training. If such systems and their associated networks are not appropriately maintained and administered, key operational functions will be at risk. In extreme situations, this could inhibit the actual delivery of 9-1-1 calls. Resolution of NG9-1-1 operational issues require strategic decision-making regarding emergency service procedures, network management, database management, infrastructure, human capital, and facilities at all levels of government. These decisions will streamline procedures that improve the availability and accuracy of information, overall production and service, and effective emergency response and incident management.

For Additional Information

Although some work has been done within the community to establish strategic operational guidelines to transition to NG9-1-1, much work remains. There needs to be a coordinate effort to develop, share, implement, and refine these plans to maximize the PSAP’s effectiveness. 9-1-1 Authorities should start or continue to heavily participate in training and educational opportunities, grant writing, public relations and awareness activities, and forging relationships with legislators and regulators at all levels of government (local, state, and federal). Knowledge and awareness of available opportunities is key, and that information is and will continue to be shared at meetings and conferences organized by a variety of organizations throughout the public safety community. Additional information regarding operations can be found at—

• NENA: NENA IP-Capable PSAP Minimum Operational Requirements Standard
• NENA: 2008 ODC Presentations, Documents and Notes

Strategic Options for NG9-1-1 Standards and Technology

As technology continues to evolve to support IP-based services for communications, such as wireless, digital landline, and VoIP advanced communications devices, the current 9-1-1 system is limited to receiving only the established set of ANI/ALI information, which is typically only 512 characters in length. Additional information, which is sometimes available today, is not readily accessible or provided to the call takers because of constraints in the legacy equipment. Standards for NG9-1-1 related technology and communications protocols are still in the process of being developed and finalized. The technological advancements and evolution of standards are independent of 9-1-1 and will drive the need for change in the 9-1-1 system. The ability for the public emergency communications infrastructure to keep pace with the continuing evolution of technology and standards is predicated on the ability to recognize and address key standards and technology issues to migrate to NG9-1-1:

• NG9-1-1 Open Standards Development and Acceptance. The underlying concept of the NG9-1-1 system is an open architecture and relies on many different technical standards to support its requirements. To date, many communications, networking, and telephony standards that will affect NG9-1-1 are still in development or need to be selected and accepted before the NG9-1-1 system can be implemented. Until NG9-1-1 related baseline standards are developed, selected, fully vetted, and ultimately adopted, uncertainty among 9-1-1 decision makers and service and equipment providers may hinder the migration to NG9-1-1.
• NG9-1-1 System Access and Security Controls. The NG9-1-1 system, like other mission-critical systems, will continually encounter attempts at illegal access, including concerted malicious attacks (e.g., denial of service, virus or worm transmission, etc.). Therefore, to mitigate security risks and control access to the NG9-1-1 system, security controls and certification and authentication mechanisms need to be developed to identify and determine the access methods, rules, and controls by which users and systems are allowed to access the NG9-1-1 network in a prescribed and standardized manner.
• Location Determination and Acquisition for NG9-1-1. A 9-1-1 caller’s location information is needed to route emergency calls to the most appropriate PSAP. Subsequently, the call taker must identify the location of the emergency to ensure that responder agencies are dispatched to the correct location. In the NG9-1-1 environment, the increased number of devices that can call 9-1-1 and associated services, infrastructure, and access providers that provide the means will make it challenging to determine how to acquire the location information and who is responsible for providing that information.
• NG9-1-1 Call Routing and Prioritization Protocol and Business Rules Development. In the NG9-1-1 environment, call routing and prioritization will be challenging because the open architecture of the NG9-1-1 system will enable routing of 9-1-1 calls, based on multiple factors, throughout the Nation and internationally instead of being limited to a specific jurisdiction. It is expected that NG9-1-1 calls will continue to be routed based, to a degree, on location; however, it has not been determined what other factors should be used to route and prioritize NG9-1-1 calls.
• NG9-1-1 Key Architecture Considerations. The supporting technology infrastructure for NG9-1-1 must meet a variety of needs of the global public safety communications professionals. Systems must be scalable, both vertically and horizontally, as well as extensible, permitting future technologies to be woven into the system without requiring wholesale replacement. Ensuring interoperability across disparate systems and eliminating single points of failure to ensure reliability are of utmost concern.

What Has Been Done?

Recently, some progress has been made to partially resolve elements of the NG9-1-1 standards and technology issues:

• SDO Standards Efforts. Several SDOs, including Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), NENA, and APCO, have been actively working to develop NG9-1-1 related standards. For example, NENA’s i3 Technical Requirements Document identifies standards and requirements for various components of the NG9-1-1 System Architecture. Also, IETF Emergency Context Resolution with Internet Technologies (ECRIT) has developed the Location to Service Translation Protocol (LoST) to serve as the protocol to route NG9-1-1 calls to the most appropriate PSAP. In addition, the NG9-1-1 relies on an IP-based infrastructure that allows the transmission of voice, video, images, and data using different protocols. For example, voice calls will use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) which is the focus of one of the IETF's working groups. The OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee currently promotes data interoperability standards and several organizations are collaborating on a suite of specifications called the Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL). EDXL is an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based model intended to create an integrated framework for a wide range of data exchange standards to support emergency operations[23].
• NG9-1-1 Initiative Architecture Analysis Report. As part of the USDOT NG9-1-1 Initiative, an analysis of the notional NG9-1-1 architecture was performed. This report[24] outlines a high-level analysis and identification of the technological deficiencies and gaps that must be addressed in order to achieve a nationwide solution. Although not a blueprint for implementing a production system, the analysis provides the framework for how a system could be constructed and the components and subsystems that must be considered.
• Federal Legislative Mandate for IP-Enabled Emergency Network and Location Information and Delivery. The U.S. Senate has passed “S.428 IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007,[25]” legislation that makes clear that it supports the migration to a national IP-enabled emergency network capable of receiving and responding to emergency communications and improving information sharing among emergency responders. Furthermore, it states that the FCC shall coordinate with public safety organizations, industry participants, and others to develop standards and best practices, and promote consistency for location information.

What Could Be Done to Address NG9-1-1 Standards and Technology?

Additional options are available throughout the 9-1-1 community to continue to address potential standards and technology shortfalls that could affect nationwide migration to NG9-1-1. These options include potential strategies or paths that would—

• Complete and accept NG9-1-1 open standards and understand future technology trends to encourage system interoperability and emergency data sharing
• Establish system access and security controls to protect and manage access to the NG9-1-1 system of systems
• Determine the responsible entity and mechanisms for location acquisition and determination
• Determine routing and prioritization protocols and business rules.

Complete and accept NG9-1-1 open standards and understand future technology trends to encourage system interoperability and emergency data sharing

The NG9-1-1 system relies on open, non-proprietary standards to develop an architectural framework that promotes system interoperability and emergency data sharing. Without the development and acceptance of NG9-1-1 related standards by the 9-1-1 community and service providers, the ability to interconnect systems and achieve the NG9-1-1 vision to provide ubiquitous, interconnected NG9-1-1 services across the Nation may not be realized. The Federal Government and 9-1-1 community should participate in the identification and development of critical and necessary NG9-1-1 related standards to ensure the standards meet the needs of the 9-1-1 community. Furthermore, the Federal Government and SDOs should coordinate efforts to establish a certification program to ensure that equipment and services provided for NG9-1-1 meet the open standards defined by the industry-accepted architectural model. Finally, the Federal Government could identify a standard coordinating entity and apply funding to support dedicated attention to the development of standards and technologies considered to be essential to NG9-1-1 and coordinate emergency data standard coordination and harmonization. Table 9 outlines some of the options federal and state g