# Presentation: 668491

## The US Department of Transportation       Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative 

## Overview

**Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and 9-1-1 at DOT**
**Secretarial Wireless E9-1-1 Initiative**
**Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative**
**National 9-1-1 Office**

## 9-1-1, EMS and DOT

**Highway Safety Act of 1966**
- “Highway Safety” includes emergency medical care and transportation of the injured
**9-1-1 as part of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system**
**National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)  **
- Office of EMS:  Federal EMS Lead Agency

## Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 (WE9-1-1) Initiative

**Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta:**
- Convened a Wireless E9-1-1 Stakeholder Summit in April 2002
- Accelerating the deployment of wireless E9-1-1
- National leadership and attention to the WE9-1-1 issue

## WE9-1-1 Initiative:  Accomplishments

**Priority Action Plan**
- Product of Steering Council and Expert Working Group
**Technical Assistance Products for PSAPs**
- Clearinghouse; videos; PSAP survey and database
- Produced under contract with NENA
**Technology Innovation Roundtable**
- Reexamination of WE9-1-1 technological approaches
- Led to Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative

## NG9-1-1 Project: An Impact Statement

## NG9-1-1 Project

** **

| Today’s 9-1-1 | Next Generation 9-1-1  |
| --- | --- |
| Virtually all calls are voice callers via telephones over analog lines. | Voice, text, or video information, from many types of communication devices, sent over IP networks |
| Data transferred via voice | Advanced data sharing is automatically performed |
| Callers manually routed through legacy selective routers, limited forwarding / backup ability | Physical location of PSAP becomes immaterial, callers routed automatically based on geographic location, enhanced backup abilities |
| Limited ability to handle overflow situations, callers could receive a busy signal | PSAPs able to control call congestion treatment, including dynamically rerouting callers |

**Notes:**
Laurie

## Consensus within the 9-1-1 Community

- Capitalize on advances in technologies that provide:
- Quicker and more accurate information to responders
- Better and more useful forms of information
- More flexible, secure and robust PSAP operations
- Lower capital and operating costs

**Notes:**
The FCC NRIC VII effort is an example.  Also consistent with recommendations coming out of public safety associations and similar bodies concerned with emergency communications standards.  These associations foresee the convergence of data, voice, text, and video networks, based on ubiquitous packet transports and using standard Internet Protocols. 

The emergency services networks will evolve beyond simply providing interfaces to PSAPs.  These networks will bridge together PSAPs, emergency service providers, jurisdictional oversight, management functions and others.  

## NG9-1-1 Project:  The Goal

** **

**Long Term Goal:**
- 	To design a system that enables the transmission of voice, data or video from different types of communication devices to the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and onto emergency responder networks.
**Major Milestones:****	**
- National architecture and high-level design for NG9-1-1 System
- Proof of Concept
- Transition plan for NG9-1-1 implementation

## NG9-1-1 Project:  Program Plan

**Engage stakeholders**
- Public and Private Agencies
- Create Partnerships
- Connecting the Dots
**Establish the vision**
- National Architecture (*Internetwork*)
**Define the future**
- Collaboration
- Shared Systems
- Full Autonomy at the Local Level
- Robust Network
- Continuity of Operations

## NG9-1-1 Initiative:  Design Assumptions

- Access to emergency services will occur within a broader array of interconnected emergency networks
- The system must support the transmission of voice, text, images and other data from all types of communication devices
- Will build on existing IP-based functionality already inherent in the Internet and similar packet-based infrastructure
- Will require new emergency response network architecture to be designed, along with new and modified standards

**Notes:**
This is a fundamental re-examination of the technological approach to 9-1-1.  Will be accomplished based on stakeholder input to lay out the system architecture and figure out how to deploy (NOT a deployment project . . . That’s later).
The Initiative, and the work that follows, will test and confirm these assumptions.

## NG9-1-1 Initiative:  NEMA Considerations

- The ability to generate and communicate new data and information about an event
- More effective incident management
- Safer First Responders
- Fault tolerant, flexible infrastructure in place to support flow of multi-media forms of data and information from and to all types of devices

**Notes:**
Note: this is NOT a typical ITS project (the stakeholders are different; the deployment scope and responsibilities are different than in ITS).  But on the other hand, 9-1-1 is NOT new to NHTSA . . .

Pithier vision:  “9-1-1 calls from any device.”  (Would include crash data, pictures, video, records from other databases . . . Not possible with today’s 9-1-1 system)

The Next Generation 9-1-1 provides greater capacity, more flexibility and improved overall communications and transmission of information.  This is not limited to the 9-1-1 call.  This could impact a variety of other ITS initiatives including, for instance, emergency response, weather and others.  
Deals with ACN/telematics issue of moving medically relevant data to hospitals; deals with Hazmat security alert TO or FROM commercial motor carriers or rail carriers; should facilitate the public safety/public safety and public safety/transportation communications interoperability.
Why this activity is important, and what will happen if this activity is not undertaken?  Unless there is federal leadership, local and state agencies will continue to develop stove-piped 9-1-1 systems on outmoded technology.
This has great impact on ITS development and deployment throughout the country.

## NG9-1-1: Standards and the Challenges

- “Any Device” (unauthenticated access)
- Funding
- Geodetic Standards
- Legacy Equipment
- Security

**Notes:**
Note: this is NOT a typical ITS project (the stakeholders are different; the deployment scope and responsibilities are different than in ITS).  But on the other hand, 9-1-1 is NOT new to NHTSA . . .

Pithier vision:  “9-1-1 calls from any device.”  (Would include crash data, pictures, video, records from other databases . . . Not possible with today’s 9-1-1 system)

The Next Generation 9-1-1 provides greater capacity, more flexibility and improved overall communications and transmission of information.  This is not limited to the 9-1-1 call.  This could impact a variety of other ITS initiatives including, for instance, emergency response, weather and others.  
Deals with ACN/telematics issue of moving medically relevant data to hospitals; deals with Hazmat security alert TO or FROM commercial motor carriers or rail carriers; should facilitate the public safety/public safety and public safety/transportation communications interoperability.
Why this activity is important, and what will happen if this activity is not undertaken?  Unless there is federal leadership, local and state agencies will continue to develop stove-piped 9-1-1 systems on outmoded technology.
This has great impact on ITS development and deployment throughout the country.

## NG9-1-1 Project:  The Future of 9-1-1

**What will NG9-1-1 do for me?**
**Equal access **
**Mobility**
**Resiliency **
**Public Safety**

## NG9-1-1 Project: Current Activity

- RFP awarded: December 4, 2006 (2 year contract)
*Booz Allen Hamilton*
*Preliminary Concept of Operations document revised*
*High Level Requirements document completed*
*Detailed Requirements – work in progress*
*Transition Plan – work in progress*
*Proof of Concept – early 2008*
- Continue engaging the stakeholders (public and private)
- Continue monitoring standards development activities
- Provide the bridge between this initiative and on-going IP-telephony standards development and related activities

## NG9-1-1 Project: Team Members

- Booz Allen Hamilton
- Leading technology and management consulting company
- Experience in supporting far-reaching public safety communications efforts
- National Emergency Number Association
- Team of experts with direct NG9-1-1 experience and knowledge
- L. Robert Kimball & Associates
- Leader in design and implementation of E9-1-1 / IP-based E9-1-1 systems
- Relevant technical expertise and domain knowledge of public safety operations
- Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center
- Developer of a prototype of the NG9-1-1 system

**Notes:**
Camilla

## NG9-1-1: It’s Not Just Telephones Anymore

**Would You Like to be Added to the Project Email Distribution List?**
**Do You Have Any Questions? **
**Do You Have *****Best Practices***** to Share?**
** **
**Project Web Page:**
- _[http://www.its.dot.gov/ng911](http://www.its.dot.gov/ng911)_** **
**Laurie Flaherty**
- _[Laurie.Flaherty@dot.gov](mailto:Laurie.Flaherty@dot.gov)_** **