Next Generation 9-1-1

Next Generation 9-1-1 (abbreviated NG9-1-1) refers to an initiative aimed at updating the 9-1-1 service infrastructure in the United States and Canada to improve public emergency communications services in a growingly wireless mobile society. In addition to calling 9-1-1 from a phone, it intends to enable the public to transmit text, images, video and data to the 9-1-1 center (referred to as a Public Safety Answering Point, or PSAP). The initiative also envisions additional types of emergency communications and data transfer. This NG9-1-1 infrastructure is intended to replace the current services over time. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) first identified the need for NG9-1-1 in 2000, and started development actions in 2003, and is nearing full definition and standards for NG9-1-1. Since 2006, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in the United States and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Canada have been leading their respective initiatives, which include research and development projects aimed at advancing NG9-1-1. On January 24, 2013, the CRTC announced the first step toward a Canadian implementation of NG9-1-1 and, in March 2016, began a consultation with the public to discuss what services should be offered, who will play a role in offering these services and how these services should be paid for. Several US states have implemented versions of NG9-1-1, as of October 2013.

Planning for NG9-1-1 started in 2000 and was published in NENA's Future Path Plan in 2001. NENA's NG9-1-1 Project began in 2003 and continues to an ultimate goal of establishing national NG9-1-1 architecture and operations standards, and implementation plans to accomplish advanced 9-1-1 systems and services. Public safety communications experts recognized that the nation's current 9-1-1 system was not capable of handling the text, data, images and video that are increasingly common in personal communications. The stated goal of a related USDOT project is: "To enable the general public to make a 9-1-1 “call” (any real-time communication – voice, text, or video) from any wired, wireless, or IP-based device, and allow the emergency services community to take advantage of advanced call delivery and other functions through new internetworking technologies based on open standards." The project is aimed at supporting establishment of a national architecture for an NG9-1-1 system that would meet these goals, and to create a transition plan for NG9-1-1.

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