Today, the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) VII adopted a “Report on the Current State of Interoperability in the Nation’s 911 Systems.”   The Federal Communications Commission directed CSRIC to survey the current state of interoperability for the nation’s 9-1-1 systems pursuant to CSRIC’s mission to provide recommendations to the Commission on a variety of topics.

The report describes the degree to which emergency communications centers are able to share voice 9-1-1 calls, location data, SMS text-to-911, CAD data, and other types of data with other ECCs and (where appropriate) with emergency response providers.  While ECCs are generally able to transfer basic voice 9-1-1 calls to neighboring ECCs, interoperability challenges often prevent sharing of other types of communications and data important for emergency response, even in areas that are making progress deploying Next Generation 9-1-1 technologies.

“APCO appreciates that the Commission acted on our suggestion to leverage CSRIC to examine the status of interoperability for 9-1-1,” APCO Executive Director and CEO Derek K. Poarch said.  “APCO has been concerned that ECCs lack interoperability and that these problems aren’t going away as agencies make progress toward achieving NG9-1-1 due to the use of proprietary technology.  The CSRIC Report confirms that more attention is needed, and APCO looks forward to continuing to work with policymakers at the Commission and Congress to ensure that ECCs can seamlessly exchange 9-1-1 calls and related data with other ECCs and on to responders in the field, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, service provider, or other factors.  APCO will also continue taking other steps to support efforts to achieve interoperability, such as the recently-released Sample RFP Template for NG9-1-1 Capabilities.”