NG911 moves from planning to implementation

At Enterprise Connect 2024, the 911 requirements discussion shifted from Enhanced 911 (E911) toward Next Generation 911 (NG911). E911 enables 911 call centers or public safety answering points to identify a caller's location and phone number. The location could be as simple as the caller's building address, or it might include additional dispatchable location information, such as floor, wing or cubicle.

For the last several years, various civic and government organizations, including the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), have led the development of Next Generation 911 (NG911), which enables callers to share more information with first responders. This could include floor plans, information on elevators and building access points, sensor data, video and more.

While not every emergency call center can support NG911, deployments are increasing. Several unified communications and third-party vendors are introducing NG911 services, offering the potential for faster and more accurate responses to emergency scenarios.

The FCC has also adopted NG911 transition rules for originating service providers. When a 911 authority makes a valid request, providers must support transition requirements that can include IP-based SIP delivery, connectivity testing, location information and interoperability with NG911 delivery points.

NG911 can improve location handling by using more dynamic location information from systems such as location management servers, network components and GPS-capable devices. Instead of relying only on static E911 database records that can contain errors or update slowly, NG911 architectures are designed to send richer, more current data with emergency calls.

Panelists agreed that NG911 is not just emerging. Rather, NG911 is here today, and telecom managers must take an active approach to implement it in their environments.

Telecom managers must stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies that help first responders locate callers and have the information they need to deal with an emergency quickly and effectively.

Local authorities can help with compliance

Metrigy found that just 63.8% of the 400 organizations participating in its "Employee Engagement Optimization: 2025" study believed they were compliant with the two federal laws governing 911 in the U.S. The two laws are the following:

1. Kari's Law, which requires direct dial to 911 (no prefix), contemporaneous notification of appropriate central location and a valid callback number.
2. RAY BAUM's Act, which requires transmission of dispatchable location information to the emergency call center.

In these situations, the issue of compliance is clouded in uncertainty, especially for older multiline phone systems that predate the laws, remote employees and fixed-mobile services that transform mobile phones into an extension of the enterprise phone system.

The conference panelists provided the following advice for organizations to become compliant with 911 requirements:

• Seek legal guidance.
• Communicate 911 calling limitations with employees and other in-building personnel, such as contractors.
• Engage with local authorities to understand what they need to accurately respond to an emergency. Telecom managers need to communicate regularly with first responders and test their 911 configurations.

Mobile phones pose problems

An interesting point of discussion was the shift to a mobile phone-first world. A few years ago, NENA estimated that, in many areas, 80% of 911 calls originated from mobile devices.

However, in many cases, if employees call 911 from personal or company-provided mobile phones, those calls bypass the enterprise phone system and UCaaS provider. That means they may not trigger enterprise workflows for internal notification or provide the same level of in-building dispatchable location detail that organizations manage for MLTS and UC calling.

First responders might arrive at a building without knowing exactly where to find the caller, and on-site personnel might not know about the call. In addition, companies that rely solely on mobile phones must ensure they don't have dead spots that inhibit employees from making 911 calls in an emergency.

Some vendor services enable companies to geofence their offices. In these cases, when a person inside a building calls 911, the 911 operator can see more detailed location information, and the front desk security personnel receive a notification. In addition, wireless 911 location rules and emerging location technologies are improving vertical, or z-axis, location information, which can help first responders identify a caller’s floor in multistory buildings, enabling them to reach the caller.

Track emerging trends

911 isn't sexy. It doesn't get the attention of AI. And investing in 911 is an employee safety and risk avoidance move, not one that generates revenue.

But 911 is the only topic in the telecom world with life-or-death implications. Those responsible for telecom management must get it right. Telecom managers must stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies that help first responders locate callers and have the information they need to deal with an emergency quickly and effectively.

Editor's note: This article was updated to improve the reader experience.

Irwin Lazar is president and principal analyst at Metrigy, where he leads coverage on the digital workplace. His research focus includes unified communications, VoIP, video conferencing and team collaboration.