St. Louis County Next Gen 911 Services
St. Louis County Next Gen 911 Services
Sunday, 25 March 2018
Question: What is NG9-1-1?
NG9-1-1 is an abbreviation for Next Generation 9-1-1, which is the industry identified term for 9-1-1 services incorporating national standards developed by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA i3 standards). NG9-1-1 services move beyond the current Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) service which only provides an address (or latitude and longitude for wireless phones) and call back phone number. NG9-1-1 service is capable of handling additional data such as video, text messaging, and enhanced locational routing of calls. Additionally, the sharing of 9-1-1 components such as networks, servers, address databases, call handling and voice recording equipment, along with the ability to transfer and handle voice calls more efficiently over a redundant network, are all improvements over the existing system. NG9-1-1 migration is supported by the FCC, DOT, and other agencies as it will provide superior service for both end users and the Public Safety community.
Question: Why is a new 9-1-1 agreement needed?
The existing agreement between St Louis County and governmental entities participating in the Emergency 9-1-1 System requires amendment to include the many features now available within the NG9-1-1 System and to include mandatory components currently provided but not within the original agreements. Some current agreements have not been updated since 1979.