AT&T and the North Texas Emergency Communications Center (NTECC) are working together to implement the most up-to-date emergency call standards. The NextGen911 system is based on AT&T’s ESInet platform and is expected to allow NTECC to keep up with current and future needs.
The updated system will service Addison, Carrolton, Coppell, and Farmers Branch. NTECC is the first Texas dispatch center to use this newest standards-based 911 technology, according to a statement.
One data point highlighting the need for modernized emergency call centers is that more than 85 percent of calls now originate from mobile phones, but a mere 20 percent of public service answering points can receive text-to-911 messages. AT&T’s ESInet IP-based call routing platform supports advanced communications such as SMS messaging.
“911 emergency communications are a vital link in connecting people with the help they need at critical moments,” Terry Goswick, executive director of NTECC, said in a statement.
Goswick describes ESInet as a “game changer,” which provides a highly redundant system for better network resiliency.
AT&T has made providing “efficient and effective enhanced 911 emergency communications” a mission, according to Stacy Schwartz, vice president at AT&T – Public Safety & FirstNet, in a statement. She added that the Dallas-headquartered communications company is “proud to work with the NTECC in providing advanced technologies to support these growing cities and help them improve the call experience for those in need.”
The ESInet platform offers NTECC a number of benefits including providing targeted responses by managing how calls and text messages are routed to 911 agencies using location-based routing, handling unexpected call volumes by routing to neighboring public service answering points, maintaining service during natural or manmade disasters with backup locations spread nationwide, and improving incident awareness through supporting images and video sent via text message.
ESInet is an IP-based call routing service and, combined with the National Emergency Number Association’s i3 standards, it seeks to offer public service answering points an improved and more reliable 911 experience. NTECC’s four partner cities—Addison, Carrollton, Coppell, and Farmers Branch—serve around 250,000 residents and visitors with emergency services.
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