Move to Next-Generation 911 a Big Job, FCC Advisory Committee Told
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration representative told the FCC’s Emergency Access Advisory Committee Friday that without a federal push there’s little chance a next-generation 911 (NG911) system will be interoperable. The committee was set up by the FCC to ensure that the network is fully accessible to people with disabilities.
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"While no one wants the federal government to come in and say, ‘Hi, we're here to help,’ it also probably is not likely that if we rely only on the local authorities that we'll end up with an nationwide NG911 system that is truly interconnected and interoperable,” said Laurie Flaherty, program analyst at the safety agency. She said she knows of only one public safety answering point (PSAP) in the country that can receive a text message directly into the 911 network as a 911 call.
The current 911 network is antiquated, Flaherty said. “It was originally built as an analog circuit-switch system, and that worked great in 1968 when all we had was landlines and the only game in town was Ma Bell,” she said. “It got a little more complicated as people started using cellphones, but thank goodness for the engineers who were able to figure out how to duct tape and velcro those connections to that old system.” Americans increasingly are using digital devices that use IP-based networks, Flaherty said. “In the meantime, the infrastructure of the 911 networks, particularly the connections to the ... PSAPs hasn’t changed,” she said. “They're unable to receive transmissions for a lot of these advanced communications devices."
The NG911 system would also offer redundancy not now available, Flaherty said. “During Hurricane Katrina 38 PSAPs were taken completely out of operation and those calls went nowhere,” she said. “With this new digital, IP-based system it is possible to reroute calls whether the case is an overrun of calls ... or the PSAP is taken out of operation."
Lynn Mell, representing T-Mobile on the committee, said keeping up with 911 changes is proving difficult for carriers. “We are receiving correspondence, I would say weekly now, from various different entities that are moving towards next generation,” she said. “It’s coming in different forms. We have just states that are just looking to get on the same net ... to communicate and then there are some PSAPs that are working individually.” The government could put together a list of what states and PSAPs are doing, she said. “I can guarantee you that that list will change, probably hourly, that’s a warning.”
"In many large entities, the number of calls to 911 are becoming overwhelming, and their ability to handle them is being diminished,” said advisory committee member Joel Ziev of Partners for Access. Places like New York are establishing an alternative 311 notification system for non-emergency calls, he noted. “Has anyone looked at bringing in the 311 system ... and the ability to access it parallel to the 911 system,” he asked. These parallel systems also must be accessible to people with disabilities, Ziev said. They shouldn’t be “an afterthought” to be handled later, he said.
Brad Hodges, representing the American Foundation for the Blind, said a targeted populations subcommittee is putting together a survey seeking information on emergency communications by various handicapped populations. Many questions were raised at the meeting about the survey and how to make it as inconclusive as possible. Information about the committee’s work is at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/EAAC/.