that moves public safety communica- tions into the digital age. They comple- ment each other and, when coordi- nated, will enable the exchange of rich data between and among the public, 911 and first responders.
eos or images from an evolving incident can be shared with the PSAP, providing invaluable information for situational awareness. The information can be shared with responders, helping them make more informed decisions as they arrive on scene. “With access to data from security cameras and building sensors, law enforcement will arrive on the scene with valuable information that will help increase officer safety,” says Ed- die Reyes, Director of Public Safety Communications, Prince William County, Virginia. “Data fromNG911-enabled technology is a game changer for law enforcement,” says Reyes. “In an active violent inci- dent, it’s extremely helpful to know the number and location of suspects as well as the exact location of any victims. Knowing what is happening at the scene is also crucial for officer safety during active violent incidents, which have become more frequent.” The data fromNG911 can also play an important role in post-incident investigations, providing evidence in the form of pho- tos, videos and texts. WHAT IS FIRSTNET AND WHY DO WE NEED BOTH NG911 AND FIRSTNET? dedicated network for communicating with one another in the field, and its basic infrastructure allows responders to access important digital informa- tion fromPSAPs. Through FirstNet, critical information about the scene of an incident such as building layouts, potential injuries, photos, videos and real-time updates, and information pro- vided by the public to PSAPs via NG911 can be securely shared. The dedicated FirstNet network provides priority and preemption to first responders, ensur- ing that they are able to communicate with each other when public communi- cation channels are overloaded. Together, NG911 and FirstNet are two equal, essential parts of an improved emergency communication system FirstNet is a wireless nationwide network that gives public safety a
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIRSTNET AND NEXT GENERATION 911?
You have likely heard of FirstNet be- cause it was created with government oversight and was initially funded by Congress. It’s a dedicated public safety broadband network that allows for lo- cal, regional and nationwide wireless communication among responders. You may not have heard of NG911 be- cause it’s being implemented indepen- dently by states, regional authorities, counties and municipalities. NG911 technology is based on software ap- plications running on high-speed digital networks. This technology can provide PSAPs with improved location accuracy, caller information and other situational awareness data related to specific incidents. The NG911 in- frastructure increases the ability to receive multimedia as part of 911 calls frommobile phones and devices, as well as text messages and faster, richer call information. NG911 enables communities to be more resilient thanks to a more robust emergency system. As Harriet Rennie- Brown, State 911 Administrator for Michigan — another state that has made significant NG911 progress — explains, “Our emergency system benefits in many ways frommore redundancy in the form of built-in fail safes and backups.” She describes how NG911 has led to large-scale system improvements in Michigan. “Overall, NG911 has provided a more robust emergency system infrastructure. We have fewer network outages and we know more about any outages that do occur,” says Rennie-Brown. “If there is an outage in the telecommunication system, the network provider is able to track it down immediately because NG911 has enabled very sophisticated monitoring systems to be set up.”
NG911-enabled technology results in improved response times and lives saved.
Once NG911 is implemented, law en- forcement and other emergency service providers will be able to reap more ben- efits from FirstNet. NG911 is the other half of the emergency communication equation, because it allows the public to send relevant data to call centers and enables law enforcement to have access to this data to make mission-critical decisions. “FirstNet and NG911 are separate but connected efforts,” explains Reyes. “New applications can take advantage of these two networks and will give law enforcement better tools to make their job of protecting communities safer, easier and more effective.” HOW SOON WILL NG911 BE IM- PLEMENTED IN MY COMMUNITY? The progress for implementing NG911 varies widely across the nation. Some states, like California, Pennsylvania and Texas, have adopted statewide plans that include governance, fund- ing, system components and strategy. Many, such as Alabama, Kansas and North Carolina, have NG911 imple- mentation in progress. Other states, including Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine and Indiana, have completed the initial installation of NG911 compo- nents, and are beginning to realize the benefits of NG911 and interconnected PSAPs all working together to improve emergency communication. n
NG911 3
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog