Attendee Sandy Vogstad & Event Facilitator Carey Spence-Lenss

The evolution of technology, from Next Generation 9-1-1 to social media, is increasing the number of platforms citizens can use — or want to use — to reach emergency services and the backbones by which these “calls” are transmitted. This concept was a common thread throughout the technical and operations discussions during APCO International’s third Technology Roundtable on April 12 in Orlando, sponsored by TCS.

NG9-1-1
The group began by tackling one of the biggest topics in public safety communications to date: Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1).

“Sometimes, I think when we talk about Next Generation 9-1-1, it hurts us,” said event facilitator Carey Spence-Lenss, ENP, “because it’s really the next step of evolution for us. And sometimes we say Next Generation 9-1-1, maybe a governor, a legislator or an appropriator or our boss at the city may say, ‘What is that Star Trek? You don’t really need that. 9-1-1 works; it’s reliable. All the calls come in, I don’t understand what you need here.’ … We need to evolve up to this next technology that we all have in our back pocket … We need to make sure that our centers, our calltakers, our dispatchers have the same capability.”

Bob Gojanovich, NG9-1-1 sales director for TCS, kicked off the discussions by providing a review of the technical requirements laid out for the IP-based network in the NENA i3 standard. He also simplified what NG9-1-1 will really require: the IP network infrastructure, either on an MPLS system, broadband cable systems, fiber network, etc.; applications that make the network perform, such as voice functions, location validation, call routing and alternate routing; and the policies and procedures and training manuals in place for the system.

“What we are going to see for the short term is what looks like enhanced 9-1-1 on an IP-based network. And it’s going to take a little while before we cross over into next gen,” he said. Gojanovich noted that, depending on where an agency is, some systems may be truly NG9-1-1 capable in three to five years.

The disucssions were ongoing throughout breaks and lunch. From left: Bob Finney, Bob Gojanovich, Ira Pyles and Susan Westfall

Some attendees expressed frustration with the vendor community about not being able to use their existing data in new systems. Lenss advised, “Service providers have to follow what you say, it is not the reverse. There are federal regulations that back that up. So you should not be shy about your authority. What I have seen time and time again, either on the public side or on the public side …, is that the government entities do not flex their muscles. And believe you me, you have muscles, you just don’t flex them.”

Gojanovich also pointed out that agencies should have options for their new systems — the ability to get services from one vendor and infrastructure from another, as well as allowing third party equipment to be introduced. Example: In Tennessee, an agency is already deploying a NG9-1-1 network with two typically competing companies, AT&T and TCS, which have agreed to work together supplying specified services.

New Applications
“Short message service was not designed for 9-1-1,” said Gojanovich. “That said, that doesn’t mean it can’t be modified to support 9-1-1. … There are solutions to text. We don’t have to wait for the entire industry to go to 4G LTE in order to get instant messaging.”

NG9-1-1 brings with it new applications, such as the ability for PSAPs to receive text messages, photo and video, use GIS and graphic MSAG and deploy systems or software designed to receive text-based tips to agencies.

Lenss said, “This is potentially the nightmare for PSAPs, either now because some people are using applications now, and it can be too much information for the PSAP. … Imagine in a Next Generation environment, I think a lot of people were not thinking of that data in a filtered environment that it wasn’t coming in a useful way. … At the same time, we can overload individuals.”

(From front to back) Attendees Steve Reinke, Robert Jeffery, Susan Westfall, Steve Wisely of APCO International and Sandy Vogstad

Regarding texting, Steve Reinke, director of Valley Communications Center in Washington, referred to the ability to text 9-1-1 as his nightmare. “Just because you can do a thing doesn’t mean you should,” he said. “I would like to see a study done on how often somebody under distress with their only choice to communicate with us is through texting. How often does that happen? Then compare that to how often a dispatcher gets a call with background noise and other information that causes that person to say, ‘You know what there’s more to the story here,” and saves a life because they add to the response something they would not have done through text messaging. I bet the ratio is 10,000 to 1.”

Reinke continued, “It’s that high-risk, low-frequency event that [law enforcement risk-management expert] Gordon Graham is always talking about that we are trying to prepare for. I think we are, as an industry, we are giving the public an expectation of services that degrades our ability to provide them the service.”

Robert Jeffery Jr., communications system supervisor for Orange County (Fla.) Sherriff’s Department, said “I think we need it. … My outlook on it is, and I understand your position, if we can save a life, shouldn’t we try?”

Although all attendees agreed with that statement, particularly regarding text-based solutions for the hearing impaired communities, the issue of cost management for this new technology remained a major concern.

Reinke said, “I’m not saying don’t do it ever, but we really need to understand what we are trying to do for hundreds of millions of dollars.” He also said it’s possible to establish standard operating procedures that make text a secondary option for telecommunicators, saying that when a telecommunicator receives a text message for help their first response should be “Can you talk?”  

Lenss pointed out that what if the infrastructure is upgraded to improve resiliency, enabling virtual PSAPs and wireless data networks for radio systems. “An adjunct you can have on top of that is texting,” she said. “I think we all know we need to evolve our networks. .. What’s frustrating is that there could be some mandates coming that will require us to be able to take these kinds of calls.”

Taking a step back: Attendees grappled with what is really driving the transition to NG9-1-1 — public expectation, technology the industry? How does public safety manage the expectation of the public?

Susan Westfall, communications commander, Alachua County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, said, “The public perception of ‘there’s an app for that. Somebody stole my cell phone, so find my cell phone, call the cops. Find my cell phone.’ That’s not realistic.”

Lenss, “But it is the public’s expectation. … It worries me to think how many people are texting 9-1-1, and we are missing their call.”   

Sandy Vogstad, communications manager for OIC North District Prince George, BC, Canada, said, “The public expectation seems to be driving it and the fear that if I don’t get ready to take these text messages, I’m in trouble. I think that’s driving a lot of the interest. We need to get on the front end of this or be a victim of it later on.”

Lenss said, “9-1-1 became this island of technology… We all got left behind. So what’s happened, you have very innovated individuals inventing applications and technology. … You are going to see more and more of that technology being developed and you are going to have to find ways for your PSAP to adapt to that. … It’s not always going to come through a dial tone provider. It’s going to come through data sources in the future.”

A Bigger Picture
Regarding wireless broadband connectivity for public safety, Lenss raised the question: Are NG9-1-1 and broadband truly separate issues?  

The group agreed that public safety does need the extra capacity offered by the D Block spectrum in order for the network to grow.

“To borrow a term, it’s part of the ‘call continuum,’” Lenss said. “Some of the contention around [a wireless broadband network] is should the government own it should the government build it, should the government maintain it? And those are the same debates around 9-1-1. … It does affect ultimately those applications. … There could be data that we don’t use for the calltaker but you could get out to the police officer, to EMS, or fire and into their more sophisticated EMDs that they don’t have today through this wireless network.”

Steve Wisely, APCO International director of comm center and 9-1-1 services, said, “Most people … think about interoperability as just talking to each other, but it’s really interoperability of data. How we are going to get that on an IP network, I’m thinking maybe it is all together.”

Reinke said, “From a philosophical stand point, you’re right, it is part of the system. Whether part of NG9-1-1, I don’t know, but it’s certainly part of a PSAP’s mission because we got to get [the information] out there and make sure it’s heard. … I think the big issue with the wireless side is that it’s not a one size fits all solution. … It all starts with access to spectrum. .. I think it’s a good discussion for APCO and our leadership to have.”

Consolidation
What drives consolidation? Money was the overall consensus, but most attendees agreed that cost savings where not a true benefit of consolidation. For most of the attendees, consolidation equals efficiency not cost savings.

Reinke pointed out that state subsidies decrease an agency’s motivation to consolidate, allowing agencies to maintain overall local control.

Ira Pyles, operations manager for Hillsborough County (Fla.) 9-1-1, said that his comm center is just starting to explore consolidation, but its main motivator is efficient “response along jurisdictional boundaries. I think we recognize that there may be cost savings, but what’s driving us is emergency response.”

Attendees were concerned with having a balance after consolidation. “It’s about economies of scale,” said Vogstad. “There is something to be said for not being too big. You will lose things. You will lose supervision capabilities; you will lose knowledge level to a certain degree, about geography and communities, which really do mean a lot to the client.”

Reinke noted that economies of scale are an issue when a major incident occurs in a smaller PSAP’s jurisdiction. The dispatcher’s ability to know the people within the jurisdiction becomes less important. “When you have a mall shooting, your two dispatchers are toast,” he said. “And we can bring the resources to bare of our entire communications center on that area temporarily while the thing is hot and life goes on. We can deliver a much better level of service when it’s a big bad call then a small PSAP can. … When you get too big how do you deal with that? And from my view, you deal with that by having really good technical systems that help you standardize.”

Lenss noted, “There is this belief that you can consolidate to save money to implement Next Generation 9-1-1. Do you think that is the case?”

Pyles responded, “Actually I think it’s the other way around. I think Next Generation 9-1-1 will allow us more flexibility with what we do with existing PSAPs.”

Reinke said, “I’m never selling cost savings [with consolidation]; I’m selling efficiency.”

Another option discussed: Consolidating systems and infrastructure rather than facilities.

Join the Discussion
This third Technology Roundtable drew attendees — industry leaders with real concerns about the impact of technology — from as far away as British Columbia, Canada, and Washington state. Other topics hit on during the event included social media and Internet usage in the comm center, emergency notification systems, new training standards in Florida and other management issues.

The next Technology Roundtable is May 18-19, in Washington D.C. The event is being held in conjunction with the 7th Annual Leadership Awards (May 17) and the Public Safety Broadband Summit & Expo (May 16-18) — an excellent week to be in D.C. for public safety communications. Remember, participation is limited, so apply to attend this year’s fourth Technology Roundtable now: http://roundtable.apcointl.org.

About the Author
Natasha Yetman is associate editor for APCO International’s Public Safety Communication magazine. Contact her via e-mail at yetmann@apcointl.org.