NG-911 Needs to Clear Old Laws, Engage in New Tech, FCBA Panelists Say

Text-to-911 isn’t intended to replace voice, but rather be a complement and last resort, said Robert Gojanovich, NG-911 sales director for TeleCommunications Systems. “It’s for the battered wife locked in the closet scenario,” he said of a situation where people may not be able to speak. The tool may also play a huge role in helping the deaf contact emergency services, he said. Traditional SMS text messaging has proved “a short-term quick fix way” to transfer messages to the public safety answering points (PSAPs), but is an “interim solution,” said National Emergency Number Association Director of Government Affairs Trey Forgety. “More robust” options will come in time, he said. The ultimate goal is the transfer of data over these new Internet Protocol networks, with the ability to transmit media such as photos, panelists said.

"Real-time text” will be possible in several years, without the delay of multiple seconds, Gojanovich said. To maximize efficiency, 911 providers may be able to provide “canned responses” at the start of calls, Forgety said. Benefits of advanced 911 systems include caller location data and, in some cases, the ability for text messages to be sent when voice calls cannot be, for technical or safety reasons, panelists said. Three text-to-911 trials have occurred so far -- in North Carolina, Iowa and Vermont -- and Tennessee recently partnered with AT&T to announce a fourth (CD Sept 7 p12). Vermont’s trial recently announced its first life saved through text-to-911, FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Turetsky told lawmakers Wednesday afternoon (CD Sept 13 p1).

PSAPs are still struggling with what to anticipate, FCBA panelists said. Some 911 centers fear they'll be “flooded with text messages the way they were flooded with wireless calls” a few years back, Gojanovich said. Initial text-to-911 trials show “the volumes are very low,” he said. Speakers at an APCO conference last month said similar things(CD Aug 23 p4). Durham, N.C., took six months before it received its first text-to-911 message despite advertising the service, Gojanovich said. Although text messaging is on the rise, even teenagers “want to talk to someone” during an emergency, he said. New 911 providers may not be limited by geography and will be able to connect more agencies to an emergency call at a faster pace, panelists said. There’s still “questions regarding the reliability of the new technology” among many state stakeholders, said John Kelly, attorney for Illinois’s southern counties and the region’s 911 centers. Regulators want to know whether it’s as reliable as current wireline 911 service, he said. “Of course, we think it’s going to be more reliable."

NG-911 promises far richer caller data, with databases of identity that include the caller’s photo, address, relatives, contact information and other data associated with the current cultural standard of disclosure of far more information than was volunteered in the past, Gojanovich said. “There are significant privacy implications,” Forgety said of such databases. They'll likely need to be “opt-in” systems for that reason, and there’s a question of who owns the data, he said.

Regulation has complicated some advances in 911 service, panelists observed. “It is our plan to run a next generation 911 system on our own,” said Kelly. Setbacks include that “there are still some people who believe wireline is not going away,” he said. Kelly referred to state-level problems that left the Illinois municipalities’ plan waylaid since February. “The Illinois law does not anticipate Next Generation [911] -- most states don’t,” he said. His problems include a lot of unanswered questions: Do 911 service providers need to receive certifications as telecom providers? Do they need interconnection agreements? Kelly isn’t convinced, and authorities need to “take another look at the purpose of interconnection,” he said. He described three attempts for Illinois 911 providers to interconnect with ILECs, to no avail. “Right now it seems everything is still biased in favor of the ILECs,” he said.

"The rub has been the question of origination of traffic,” Forgety said of interconnection agreements. There’s also the problem of statutes written with the belief there’s only one 911 provider, he said. 911 providers have difficulty being classified as phone services because the trunks only receive traffic but don’t dial out, Kelly said. “I think this is something the FCC is going to have to weigh in on here.” It’s considering NG-911 interconnection duties and rights in several proceedings at the moment, Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Tim Stelzig said. He described the various types of possible interconnection agreements, independent of his position at the FCC.

Current text-to-911 systems lack the simplicity of voice 911 calls, panelists said. “Today you cannot send a text message to 911,” because text messages can only be sent to number with five or six digits, Gojanovich said. Funding will also play a role in NG-911, panelists said. Illinois underfunds its 911 service by about 20 percent Kelly said, citing a recent study. He’s encouraging an increase in the state surcharge, though it’s faced resistance, Kelly said. The fee-for-service model remains popular among the states, Forgety said. NENA is adamant that 911 funds truly go to the service, he added: The state will “say they're improving 911 service, and they're really providing radios for police cars.”