by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 14, 2019 | Comm Center News
Missouri County Deploys Avtec Consoles with NEXEDGE Radio System
The new communications system includes 10 Avtec dispatch console positions and two additional console positions that are configured for operation as a backup dispatch center or for mobile operation. The system also includes radio interfaces including a direct IP integration to the county’s JVCKENWOOD NEXEDGE multisite trunked radio system and interfaces to about 20 other radio systems via Avtec radio gateways. An application programming interface (API) integrates with the county’s CAD system to provide dispatchers with the information needed to quickly and reliably make decisions.
Jasper County Emergency Services Executive Director April Ford said dispatchers have been using the same radio consoles to coordinate with first responders for 12 years.
“Our old system was antiquated and lacked the ability to easily adapt as our business practices changed,” said Ford. “Migrating from a hardware-based system to a software-based console solution provides us with communications that are crystal clear, which helps improve officer safety and reduce response times.”
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 13, 2019 | Comm Center News
Shelby County Implements In-Building 9-1-1 Location Technology
Shelby County buildings are multifloor, multidepartmental offices with key-lock, proximity or biometric access. In many instances, first responders would face an emergency call from a building with eight to 12 floors of 9,000-20,000 square feet each, and multiple rooms, small offices and cubicle areas. They would be forced to navigate this maze with no information as to floor plan, office numbers, service closets and hazardous areas, among other obstacles and route challenges.
Avaya introduced 911 Secure to the county as a proof-of-concept exercise, initially targeting three floors of the main administration building. Avaya IX Workplace with 911 Secure’s SENTRY uses new integration capabilities with the RapidSOS Clearinghouse. Through RapidSOS, first responders can access a building address, the specific endpoint location from which a call was placed, and other critical details such as the square footage of the property, detailed floor plans and which entrance is best to use — all within seconds.
“During the preliminary testing phase, we were immediately impressed with the system’s ability to recognize when an endpoint was relocated from one subnet to another; it was virtually instantaneous, and we could immediately see that one of our issues — endpoint portability — would be resolved,” said Jeff Yallope, manager customer support and telecommunications, Shelby County. “The 911 Secure capability to clearly identify locations by subnet is having a significant and beneficial impact on our network design standards. We now insist on using best practices for all ongoing network moves, adds and changes and are working retroactively to remedy some areas in preparation for a 911 Secure implementation.”
Shelby County plans to expand a complete rollout of 911 Secure’s SENTRY solution to cover the entire main administration building and the remaining seven or eight multilevel county buildings in the downtown Memphis area in the near future.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 12, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Lesia Dickson, Northcentral Area Director
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) continued its collaboration with the Region VII states — Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri — when we convened for a recent FirstNet User Forum in Altoona, Iowa. The forum was hosted by the Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICSB) and brought together more than 115 stakeholders from public safety agencies to learn about the latest FirstNet developments and regional initiatives underway. We also shared updates about the FirstNet Authority Roadmap (Roadmap) and captured input from participants.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 12, 2019 | Comm Center News
Florida County Selects Datamark for GIS Prep for NG 9-1-1 Transition
“As a small rural county, we don’t have the time or staff for labor-intensive processes like driving the entire county to tag addresses that were missing for whatever reason in our dataset,” said Clint Erickson, Washington County Board of County Commissioners, E9-1-1 mapping and addressing and E9-1-1 coordinator. “We needed a public-safety and GIS expert to come in and quickly help us meet the fairly strict GIS data standards for NG 9-1-1. From applying for a state grant to training the staff, Datamark provided Washington County with alternative and cost-effective methods to collect and validate missing address data and get it into a software solution that benefits the entire county.”
With a total population of 24,880, Washington County faces limited manpower and financial resources. In the early stages of the relationship, Datamark assisted Washington County in its state of Florida grant application process, helping the county successfully secure funding for the GIS and NG 9-1-1 project. The project is being implemented and includes three elements phased over six months.
Datamark’s staff will also provide on-site and/or virtual training for Washington County, allowing users to acquire critical knowledge to support. The county will also have access to ongoing technical support.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 12, 2019 | Comm Center News
NENA Announces New Enhanced PSAP Registry with Mapping
The NENA EPRC, made possible through a sponsorship from Uber, will replace and improve on NENA’s PSAP Registry, which is a basic database of the contact information for every 9-1-1 center in the nation.
“NENA is excited to expand and improve upon its current PSAP registry, and we’re pleased to partner with GeoComm and Uber in this effort,” said Brian Fontes, CEO of NENA. “This improved database will help dispatchers serve the public better by providing fast, convenient, reliable access to important 9-1-1 information.”
More than 20 years ago, NENA built the original PSAP Registry to ensure that PSAPs and commercial call centers can deliver requests for service to the proper 9-1-1 center in cases when a 9-1-1 call does not arrive at the appropriate PSAP, such as when an out-of-state family member dials 9-1-1 on behalf of a relative. In cases like these, the PSAP registry provides the priority answer ten-digit phone number of the agency that needs to be notified. However, the legacy PSAP registry uses a text search based on various data items, such as community name, and does not support modern mapping or context awareness.
In addition to fulfilling its purpose of providing a single authoritative registry of PSAP contact information, the new EPRC is also an interactive mapping and search tool with expanded data such as backup phone numbers, PSAP capability information, PSAP service areas and more. Using a mapping interface, users can search for PSAP information using a landmark, community name or address, or simply by clicking on the map viewer. Additionally, the platform provides a robust application programming interface (API) to make EPRC data available to approved third-party public-safety applications.
Like the legacy PSAP registry, the EPRC is free to access for verified government public-safety personnel. Other parties, such as public-safety application providers, can access the EPRC with special approval for valid public-safety purposes.
“At Uber, we believe technology can make travel safer than ever before,” said Mike Sullivan, Uber head of global law enforcement operations. “That is why we have been working with 9-1-1 centers across the country to make Uber trip data available to dispatchers electronically and support the modernization of the PSAP directory. We are proud to partner with NENA on this effort because we know in an emergency, when every second counts, accurate location information is crucial.”
The EPRC will be available to PSAPs nationwide in summer 2019.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 12, 2019 | Comm Center News
3 Companies Integrate 9-1-1 Technologies for Better MLTS Location Data
Avaya IX Workplace unified communications solutions for the enterprise can now deliver emergency data to public-safety agencies through an integration with 911 Secure SENTRY and RapidSOS.
In a multiline telephone system (MLTS) environment, SENTRY already provides location for IP devices as well as on-site notification for Kari’s Law compliance. Using multimedia content available when a 9-1-1 call event occurs, in-office security has the situational awareness they need to manage the incident. Now that identical information can be directly sent to 9-1-1 and first responders as well. This enables dispatchers and first responders in the field to more accurately locate a caller’s precise location and gain access to critical situational awareness when calls are made from an Avaya communications system.
The integration with RapidSOS provides precise, real-time location, floor plans and other critical information that could save lives.
“In situations where every second counts, seamless communications and sharing of high-fidelity data can make the difference between life and death,” said Mark Fletcher, Avaya chief architect of worldwide public safety solutions. “Everyone across the continuum of public safety needs real-time access to information and to each other to make certain each individual in distress receives optimal care. As the company that provides innovative ways for people to work and communicate from anywhere on any device, we are excited to partner with an innovator in emergency technology like RapidSOS to deliver a solution with advanced emergency calling capabilities to help ensure user safety wherever and however they are connected.”
Avaya IX Workplace with 911 Secure SENTRY uses new emergency data capabilities made available by the RapidSOS Clearinghouse, in use by more than 3,000 public-safety agencies nationwide. This new solution is the first to connect user-specific location information from a commercial network with 9-1-1 through the RapidSOS platform.
The RapidSOS Clearinghouse is a secure source of emergency data for public-safety agencies, which can retrieve data in an emergency through RapidSOS Portal or integrations with existing 9-1-1 center software systems. This allows them to add sophisticated information in real-time that the existing 9-1-1 infrastructure is not capable of providing.
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