The State of Arizona recently put forth a mandate requiring all 911 systems in the state be upgraded by the end of 2020. According to Winslow Police Department Dispatch Supervisor Michael Jones, “Most agencies are still using 1970s or 1980s technology, (with) copper wire communications systems. We are the sixth agency in the state to start rolling out Next Generation 9-1-1.”
Next Generation 9-1-1 as Jones explained, is a combination of technologies that are designed to streamline the process of making, receiving and dispatching calls to the emergency system.
“Traditionally, when you dial 911 from a landline, the call is routed to a central hub. In our case, that hub is in Denver, Colo. It would pick up phone number data as well as address information like a super caller ID; the name, phone number, address, which agency should respond, etc. When the 911 call taker in our facility answered the phone they would know which agency the call was for whether it was police, fire, or emergency medical services,” explained Jones.
All of that information was transmitted in a fraction of a second. Jones added, “Next Generation 9-1-1 can pin point the physical location of the caller. Within 10 seconds, this system can zero in a caller’s location within nine feet. The call itself will route to the proper agency. This routing is called ‘geospatial.’ Now, if it comes to us, we automatically know where it goes and who to send.”
This is beneficial because of the many agencies that respond to Winslow’s rural areas. Coconino County, Navajo County, the Department of Public Safety and WPD, Winslow Fire and Action Medical Services all respond to areas within and around the city limits.
Regarding the Denver hub Jones said, “It still exists but now what we are using instead of the outdated technology is fiber optics, it is lightening fast.” The fiber optics installation, which is a large part of the mandated upgrade is currently underway at the Winslow Police Department. Jones said, “With this technology, there is what is called a ring of redundancy. If a line is severed between here and Flagstaff, for example, we have another line that goes to it. That means calls can be rerouted in a fraction of a second and we have no loss of service.
“In addition to these benefits, our information is hosted on a server that is out of a Phoenix location. If hypothetically, Winslow needed to evacuate, all we have to do is call our service provider and have calls forwarded to an extended phone number. We can then use an iPhone or tablet to access our maps and other agency information with no loss in service. Basically, it allows us to be a mobile command center.” Another benefit of the system will be the ability to send text, video and picture data directly to 911. “That isn’t ready just yet, but by the end of 2020, that will be in place.”
Funding for the overhaul will be from the cell phone customers in the State of Arizona. Jones explained, “If you look at your cell phone bill, you will see that you pay an Arizona state 911 tax. That goes to the state and literally all they do is fund 911 systems. So, along with our provider, who in this case is Century Link, they came up with a solution to fulfilling the state mandates.”
Century Link will provide all of the maintenance on the new system, as well as continue to update the technology for the Next Generation 9-1-1 system. “The state grouped all of the anticipated costs together including, hardware, infrastructure, maintenance, etc., for the state-wide overhaul,” Jones said. Century Link then chose to issue Arizona one bill. According to Jones, “They broke it up over the term of five years.”
Jones expressed an excitement for the new system not only 9-1-1- callers, but for dispatchers as well. “This will allow us to see who the call takers were, we can recreate the call, we can see the entire process.” He concluded, “This is going to benefit everyone.” The new system is anticipated to begin use within the next month.
