MADISON, Wis., July 11 2018 — Dane County, Wisconsin, has equipped its main 9-1-1 public safety answering point (PSAP) with an advanced call handling and management system from Solacom. The Solacom Guardian 9-1-1 Solution replaces the aging legacy system at Dane County Public Safety Communications (911). With this Internet Protocol (IP)-based system, Dane County is now positioned to adapt to changing calling habits, rapidly advancing call technology, and evolving industry standards.

Solacom installed the Guardian 9-1-1 Solution in October 2017 at the 21-position main PSAP and a 14-position backup and training center in Dane County. The two PSAPs provide services for over 500,000 residents across Dane County, including the City of Madison. 

Solacom’s Guardian 9-1-1 Call Handling solution is the most flexible, user-friendly voice, data, and video emergency call management solution for PSAPs. It is engineered to streamline 9-1-1 call handling and processing, enable more efficient collection of critical information, and speed delivery of that information to first response teams in any situation.

“We are very happy,” says John Dejung, 9-1-1 director at Dane County Public Safety Communications (911). “It’s easy to use, it’s a modern system, it’s geo-diverse, and we believe it will continue to serve the public very well for years to come. It’s easy to maintain and I’m thrilled with the reliability. Wisconsin is moving toward installing a statewide Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet). Once that happens, we’ll be ready to go — we won’t be waiting to install compatible equipment at our PSAP.”

At the desktop, the user-centric and customizable Guardian 9-1-1 Call Handling solution supports administrative and emergency call processing. It is engineered to respond to emergency and administrative calls, perform call distribution functions, transfer calls with the click of a button, provide unlimited conferencing, and allow call takers to see and manage every leg of an active call.

“The Guardian solution’s Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) functionality is a big step up from the basic ACD features in their old system,” says Tony Parrott, Solacom’s vice president of sales. “The ability to prioritize and distribute calls to the next available call taker is really important for large, busy PSAPs like this one. This should lead to improved emergency call answering times in Dane County.”

The installation included training for call takers, trainers, and supervisors, as well as department technical services staff and radio technicians.