Iowa's E-911 services to be upgraded

State officials are in the progress of upgrading Iowa's wireless E-911 system with new technologies that will allow users to send text messages, photos or video messages to 911 operators, officials announced Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Derek Hill, administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, which oversees the state's wireless Enhanced 911 (E-911) system, said his agency is in the initial stages of project utilizing leading-edge technology to upgrade Iowa's wireless E-911 system “to support the use of a Next Generation 911 (NG-911) emergency services IP-based system.” The upgrade will allow citizens to use texting, video and picture messaging to access emergency care via 911, he noted.

“While the existing E-911 system has been a success story for more than 30 years, it has been stretched to its limit,” Hill said in a written statement. “Many Iowans are using new wireless and Internet-based communication devices that offer text, video, and picture messaging capabilities, but unfortunately the current E-911 system was never intended to be able to handle these technologies.”

An NG-911 emergency services IP-based system will facilitate all the current functions and features of the current E-911 system, Hill said, but it also will support the new technologies. While these forms of communications are not immediately available through the current service providers, NG-911 will have the system functionality to support texting, video, and picture messaging once it is developed by the carriers and made available to the Public Safety Answering Points who process the 911 calls through the NG-911 system.

“Modern communications has created the need for a more advanced system to access emergency care,” said Barbara Vos, Iowa's E-911 program manager. “This solution will equalize emergency services across Iowa by allowing its (public safety answering points) to connect to the statewide emergency services IP Network in order to receive and process 911 calls from both legacy and new technologies.”

Iowa was among 30 states and territories to receive federal grant awards for the technology upgrades. The state Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division recently was awarded a five-year contract to TeleCommunication Systems, Inc., to develop Iowa's NG-911 Emergency Services IP system and services. The $2.7 million project is funded by a $1.3 million grant from the federal transportation and commerce agencies, Hill said. The matching $1.3 million will come from Iowa's wireless surcharge carryover funds.

Implementation of the NG-911 Emergency Services IP System is the first step in developing an inter-connected system of local and regional emergency services networks for nationwide emergency services, officials said. The overall goal is to improve the ability of emergency services to share information among the various stakeholders in our communities.

For more information on Iowa's E-911 program, visit www.iowahomelandsecurity.org/programs/E_911.html.