9-1-1: the next generation.

• Author: Bourquard, Jo Anne
• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS

Students under gunfire at Virginia Tech sent frantic text messages to 9-1-1, but they were never received. Like most 9-1-1 call centers in 2007, those serving Blacksburg, Va., lacked the technology to read texts.

The tragedy, which claimed 32 lives, underscored the need to modernize the 9-1-1 system to support new communication tools, including texts, photos, videos and high-speed Internet. This complex and costly upgrade is now under way.

The Next Generation 9-1-1 will support multi-media from a variety of sources, including laptops, mobile phones, vehicle safety systems, smoke alarms, and even personal medical devices. It also will be able to transfer 9-1-1 calls between call centers during crises.

Tennessee, a leader in the transition to the new system, started building infrastructure in 2009 and expects the price tag to be $44 million over the next five years. Additionally, the system will cost $90 million to install and $16.5 million a year to operate.

The National 9-1-1 Program, run by an emergency services arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, recently issued a report containing legislative language options in governance, funding, privacy, confidentiality, security and liability to help state lawmakers as they draft policies to address the new 9-1-1 infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges...