The Federal Communications Commission in the USA yesterday adopted rules to expedite the transition to Next Generation 911, help ensure that the nation’s 911 system functions effectively, and support the deployment of advanced 911 capabilities— including video, text, and data—that will help first responders save lives.

Each year, people in need of emergency assistance make more than 200 million calls to 911 in the United States. The calls travel on dedicated 911 networks to reach a telecommunicator who can dispatch aid. State and local 911 authorities are now transitioning to NG911 by replacing legacy 911 technology with Internet Protocol (IP)-based infrastructure that will support new 911 capabilities and improve 911 interoperability, security, and system resilience. Completing the NG911 transition also requires originating service providers—that is, the 911 callers’ phone companies—to format 911 calls to be compatible with NG911 and to deliver the calls to new destination points on IP networks as established by 911 authorities.

As state and local 911 authorities have begun to invest significantly in NG911, some originating service providers have delayed connecting to these IP networks, which prolongs the transition process and increases costs for public safety.

To address this, the Commission adopted the first nationwide NG911 transition rules that define the responsibilities and set deadlines for originating service providers to implement NG911 capabilities on their networks and deliver 911 calls to NG911 systems. This will expedite the nationwide transition to NG911, lead to faster call delivery and improved service reliability, and save lives.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: "We take these steps because what comes next with next-generation 911 is big. It will provide improved support for voice, text, data, and video communications. It will mean more redundancy to protect against outages. For those who call, it will mean the opportunity to provide real-time video of the emergency. It will mean the ability to provide first responders with instantaneous pictures. It will make it possible to transmit a patient’s medical records directly to 911 dispatchers. And for those who take calls in an emergency, all of this data can inform public safety efforts, improving emergency response and saving lives."