August 2010 Public Safety Communications

August 2010 

Statewide Comprehensive Plan for 9-1-1
Next Gen and Beyond

Virginia's 9-1-1 Centers receive, process, and dispatch requests for emergency aid quickly and accurately:

• From any geographical location
• From any communication device
• In any language

The Statewide Comprehensive Plan for 9-1-1 defines key strategic initiatives for improving 9-1-1 services and functionality across Virginia. The plan describes a future for 9-1-1 to include Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1), and will influence Virginia's statewide decisions concerning 9-1-1.

PSC staff will facilitate the process of ensuring that the vision, goals and initiatives outlined in the Comprehensive Plan remain relevant to the current 9-1-1 community and environment. As technology, needs, wants and resources change, the Plan will be updated to reflect the consensus of the 9-1-1 community within the Commonwealth. To accomplish this, PSC staff will reach out to the PSAP Community across the Commonwealth as well as the VA chapters of APCO and NENA.

To update the Plan:

• Review and update process to begin soon
• Stakeholder involvement will be key
• Conduct a reassessment of current state and emerging technologies and solutions.

E-911 Wireless Services Board PSAP Grant Program

This is a multi-million dollar program administered by the VA Wireless E-911 Services Board. Its primary purpose is to financially assist primary PSAPs with the purchase of equipment and services that support the continuity and enhancement of wireless E-911.

Since its inception, the program has provided more than $30M toward this goal. However, for fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010 there are still $800K, $2M, and $8M (respectively) in grant awards that have not been utilized. This means that there have been many projects funded, but not completed, leaving much to be accomplished in the future. Although the availability of funding to support this program at past levels is diminishing, projections indicate that there will be funding to support the most critical needs of the PSAPs. It is important for PSAP staff across the Commonwealth to continue to identify those needs, plan for alternative funding methods and explore options such as leasing equipment and utilizing shared services.

Next Generation 9-1-1 in Region 6

Pittsylvania, Franklin and Patrick Counties are implementing a Next Gen 9-1-1 project that will migrate them from the current legacy network, to a complete IP based end-to-end system. Through a partnership with Intrado, they are recognizing the benefits of a fully integrated voice and data network to provide enhanced 9-1-1 Routing and ALI Management. The project will increase the PSAPs interoperability, and provide a diverse and redundant network for back-up and disaster recovery capabilities. The project also fosters regional collaboration and will improve 9-1-1 services over an IP network.

This project received funding assistance through the VA Wireless E-911 PSAP Grant Program and supports the goals of the Statewide Comprehensive 9-1-1 Plan. This project will establish a framework for future 9-1-1 technologies and services, and will provide lessons learned for PSAPs across the Commonwealth. Each phase of the project will evaluate the various components involved in Next Generation 9-1-1, from call delivery and data over the network, to the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE).