Indiana’s 911 system has gone through a statewide push that’s allowed...

answering points] still facing consolidation,” said Indiana Enhanced Wireless 911 Board Executive Director Barry Ritter, describing 2008 legislation that called for no more than two 911 centers per county and a December 2014 deadline. Centers that refuse to consolidate forfeit any state money. INdigital President Mark Grady, who helps lead the enhanced network commissioned by the state, described a slow, sure evolution of the network. “There’s not really a clear definition of what NG-911 is,” he said, referring to one challenge. The system currently allows 911 operators to text people but not the other way around, he said, saying texting to 911 is slated for later this year. There’s a 160-character limit and a six-second delay, “suitable” for public safety purposes, he said. The texting option has been useful in cases of domestic incidents as well as runaways, he said. Sometimes people won’t answer return calls from 911 but will respond to texts, he said. “The public is not as shocked we can text them as people on this call might be,” Grady said. FCC Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief David Furth described during the Thursday call the “very good comments from a variety of 911 stakeholders” in anticipation of an FCC NG-911 report to Congress due Feb. 22. The report will be all recommendations, “nothing binding,” he added. The FCC is explicitly looking at how to ensure next-generation 911 has “technical compatibility” with the FirstNet public safety network, he said.