In the past two years, I’ve worked with many people engaged in figuring out the technical and operational changes necessary to implement the long-range Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) vision described in the proposed NENA i3 architecture.

At press time, the i3 working group was reviewing comments it had received on the document and preparing its final edits. The nearly 300 pages of the i3 document are only the start of a complex system design that will require countless development hours for the technical architecture and underlying operational processes.

Those involved in this challenge are struggling to understand why the basic principles of 9-1-1 call delivery and handling appear too complex for the average public safety stakeholder to grasp. The typical response involves the statement that NG9-1-1 will be an “entirely new system” from the ground up. Although true, this answer does little to relieve the frustration many of us are feeling while we try to build confidence in and understand how the system will work and what we’ll need to do to manage its effects on our employees and customers.

The core principle of our business will remain the same: People must be able to communicate the need for help and expect help to arrive.

NG9-1-1 will allow multiple communications methods to be integrated into systems outside the traditional voice methods used today. It will also facilitate opportunities to expand interoperability between agencies. Realizing the potential of the new system, however, requires an understanding of its basic architecture, and, thus, NG9-1-1 comes with a steep learning curve.

Many people are finding it difficult to adapt their learning styles to a public safety environment that’s increasingly being driven by new technology. Trying to master all the NG9-1-1 technological complexities is akin to enrolling in college and majoring in everything. It’s simply unrealistic. It may, therefore, be more helpful for managers and 9-1-1 officials to accept the complexities and try to gain an understanding of why our new 9-1-1 systems can’t be viewed in the same straightforward manner as the past system. Developing this understanding will provide a foundation for determining the type of technical, subject matter expertise 9-1-1 authorities and PSAP managers must have access to when drafting requirements for an NG9-1-1 system in their region.

Why the complexity? NG9-1-1 relies on IP technology for the delivery of all 9-1-1 calls. An accurate location is required and must be provided with all calls regardless of the media being used. The basic premise of the NENA i3 specification assumes that all calls entering an emergency services IP network (ESInet) will be based on session initiation protocol (SIP) and that any calls not SIP based will be converted via a gateway or other protocol interwork function before they’re presented to an ESInet.

The terms SIP, IP network, gateway and protocol interwork function are good indications of why these new systems will be much more complicated than previous systems. To effectively design, implement and manage these systems, the architecture must be based on well-defined industry technical standards and specifications. APCO International continues to monitor the implementation of the external alarm interface standard and is working jointly with NENA to draft additional standards for NG9-1-1 data sharing. However, many other organizations, researchers and vendors are involved in the standards process. Aligning all the interdependent technical specifications and interface standards will require significant and ongoing convergence work.

Following are examples of prevalent technical standards development organizations that have drafted complex technical documents that will affect NG9-1-1 call delivery:

IETF: Much of the NENA i3 technical specification is based on best practices and protocol standards drafted by work groups within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IETF is an open international community of network designers, operators, vendors and researchers who focus on the evolution and operation of Internet architecture. SIP is defined by the IETF.

TIA: The Telecommunications Industry Alliance (TIA) is an ANSI-accredited standards development organization (SDO) that develops standards for various telecommunications solutions.

ATIS: The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is an ANSI-accredited SDO that also develops standards and solutions for the telecommunications industry. The ATIS/TIA joint standard J-STD-036 provides a solution for handling wireless E9-1-1 calls and is referenced in many NG9-1-1documents and discussions. The ATIS Emergency Services Interconnect Forum (ESIF) recently completed the request for assistance interface (RFAI) specification for the delivery of 9-1-1 calls via IP selective routing. Most commercial mobile radio system networks in the U.S. adhere to standards issued by ATIS and TIA.

3GPP/3GPP2: 3GPP is an acronym for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2, which are collaborative efforts between SDOs to develop global telecommunications specifications. ATIS standards are based on specifications produced by 3GPP, an international organization supported by standards organizations and member companies from North America, Europe and Asia. TIA standards are similarly based on specifications produced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), an international organization supported by standards organizations and their member companies from North America and Asia. 3GPP and 3GPP2 have drafted specifications that support the delivery of 9-1-1 calls via CMRS-based networks and delivery of 9-1-1 calls over IP using the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS).

OMA: The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is a partnership forum that develops mobile service enabler specifications. By linking the activities of various wireless, information technology and mobile application vendors, OMA strives to develop specifications for interoperability within the mobile application industry.

OGC: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international industry collaboration forum for the developers and users of spatial data products. The technical documents produced by OGC are used to build open interfaces and encoding for geospatial products. The OpenGIS Web Feature Service (WFS) referenced in several NG9-1-1 documents is an OGC standard.

IEEE: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an association that drafts standards and other publications to advance global technologies worldwide. Examples of IEEE standards development categories are communications, computer technology, antennas and propagation, information sharing and wired and wireless networks. The family of 802.11 standards for wireless local area networks (LANs) is defined by IEEE.

There are many more specifications and organizations than can be mentioned in an article. The intent isn’t to overwhelm our readers with the endless number of technical documents that may apply to NG9-1-1 call delivery, but to make everyone aware of why the design process for NG9-1-1 is extremely complicated. In the past, 9-1-1 authorities and PSAP managers could rely on their inherent knowledge of emergency communications and basic phone technology to assure their constituents that the design of their 9-1-1 system would meet their needs and expectations. The implementation of wireless technologies and other applications forced many managers to expand their resources and seek additional technical expertise to ensure the integrity and continuity of their 9-1-1 systems were maintained. NG9-1-1 and IP-based systems will require technical expertise of unprecedented levels. Understanding what drives the design of a complex architecture can help us justify the need for improved technical collaboration between different facets of government or between agencies. Collaboration can also help curtail costs associated with hiring additional technical personnel for each PSAP.

The learning curve is endless within the emergency services industry and may at times be understandably frustrating. If the technical concepts of NG9-1-1 are making you long for when things seemed simpler, you’re not alone. The frustration will pass if we work together to grasp the concepts and put the knowledge to use to improve our systems.

About the Author

Kathy McMahon is technical service manager for APCO International. Contact her via e-mail at mcmahonk@apcointl.org.

Originally published in Public Safety Communications magazine, Vol. 77(3):16-18, March 2011.