sibility for their cloud-based services because Intrado manages and main- tains the solutions, while retaining the advantages of resiliency and reliability. Other advantages are the opportunity to add future functionality without adding new hardware, and the ability to interoperate with other locations or agencies. Intrado also offers services beyond NextGen 911, such as caller name and address database management services, caller location services, call delivery ser- vices for Wireless, VoIP, Telematics and Satellite providers, and call-processing and call-display equipment.
Durham (N.C.) Emergency Communications Center call taker has access to their RMS through cloud technology.
network equipment itself, as well as 24/7/365 monitoring of equipment. Choosing Intrado’s cloud can be important in reducing outages from weather disasters. None of the Intrado network’s customers on the East Coast suffered 911 outages during 2012’s Super Storm Sandy. Similarly with Hur- ricane Irene, the network in Vermont didn’t fail to deliver a single 911 call, when many other statewide systems were down. Intrado reports reluctance from some agencies to use cloud-based services to handle life-critical applications such as those involved in 911. They believe, however, that positive experiences by early adopters such as Durham will provide a credible example for other agencies who may be wary of off-site solutions.
What Intrado Offers Intrado does not have fiber in the ground but rather contracts with major carriers for transport-components of ESInet service. Intrado provides the “intelligent routing” function for 911. That includes identifying the location of the 911 caller, the appropriate respond- ing agency (police, fi re or EMS), and utilizing various network components (including those owned by Intrado and those obtained from telecom carriers) to deliver the call to that agency.
PSAPs have a variety of ways to ob-
tain 911 call routing services, depend- ing on their individual circumstances, and Intrado has a corresponding variety of business arrangements with telecom companies to meet the PSAP’s specifi c needs. Intrado can act directly as the PSAP’s 911 Service Provider (procuring parts of the overall solution from oth- ers) or provide the routing and supple- mental data components for a telecom company who serves the PSAP them- selves, or anything in between. The National Emergency Numbers Association (NENA) has established a Next-Generation 911 interoperability framework (referred to in the industry as “i3”) that allows multiple network and hardware vendors to build IP- based solutions that will interface with each other, both for the delivery of calls, as well as information such as the caller name and address. Intrado’s NextGen 911 solutions
are based on the i3 standard. Multiple PSAPs with NG911 solutions can be linked for backup situations, overfl ow, special-event circumstances, or other times where multiple agencies may need to interoperate. This capability is not always available currently. Intrado’s customers who move oper-
ations to the cloud for NextGen911 have several distinct advantages. These in- clude removing the customer’s respon-
Departments Can Begin a Gradual Migration Both rural and urban-located agen- cies can benefi t from the advantages of NextGen 911, depending on their unique situation, which determines the ease with which each department makes the change. Some agencies rely on a single NG911 services provider for network services, equipment and data- base management, while some contract individual elements among several ven- dors and manage the deployment and ongoing system operation themselves. Intrado believes the most important
thing PSAPs who haven’t started the migration to NextGen 911 should con- sider is that it is in fact a migration. There are a number of ways they can get started with this process. Nothing says the process has to be accomplished in one single, monumental project. Several elements can add value to the
PSAP and help them make progress to- ward the benefi ts of NextGen 911 and these can be done incrementally. Adding to their network, premises equipment, Graphical Information System (GIS) data, and supplemental data sources are all steps in the process of this migration. Reader Service Number 201
Kathy Marks is a previous contributor to LAW and ORDER Magazine and has worked as a child abuse investigagtor for more than 25 years. She also teaches law enforcement classes for mobile training units in Illinois. She can be reached at
kathymarks53@aol.com.
LaO Post your comments on this story by visiting
www.lawandordermag.com www.lawandordermag.com 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68