Next Generation 9–1–1: The future is now
Those who know me well know I am a huge fan of films made in the ’80s. John Hughes was one of my favorite filmmakers, directing and producing classic movies like “The Breakfast Club”, “Weird Science”, and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. My favorite ’80s film series however has to be the “Back to the Future” franchise (props to Robert Zemeckis), chronicling the adventures of Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and a DeLorean turned into a time machine. The film enjoyed widespread success, becoming one of the most successful film trilogies of all time.
Like many BTTF fans, for me, the most intriguing part of these movies was the idea of seeing what the future held. Today, well over thirty years after the film was produced, its amazing to see just how accurate the films creators were relative to where we would be “technology-wise” as a society.
Doc and Marty traveled thirty years into the future. Today, I’m going to take you a short five years into the future; April 1, 2023. My journey wont be nearly as wide-reaching (or as exciting), as it will focus solely on the state of our nation’s emergency communications centers post NG9–1–1.
April 1, 2023
When we left 2018, we left a world where telecommunicators remained very much reliant on an “audio only” environment for call intake and processing. Some aspects of Next Generation 9–1–1 had been implemented, but for the most part, America’s PSAP’s were still operating in an analog setting, and in many cases, on legacy CAD architecture. Emergency Services IP Networks (ESINets) were in place in a few states, but due to political red tape, a lack of funding, and an unwillingness of neighboring communities to work together to bring the idea to fruition, this necessary foundation for NG9–1–1 remained widely unavailable. FirstNet, a dedicated public safety broadband network, had been universally accepted throughout the United States in late 2017, but little had been done to further the efforts of the initiative following opt in. At the time, the viewpoint of most policy makers and stakeholders was one of “lets wait and see” or “that technology is years away”, even with efforts nationally to launch the program boasting a goal of doing so by 2020. A passive and complacent attitude stifled progress on program development resulting in PSAP’s, their administrations, and personnel not being prepared or concerned about the arrival of the technology.
Five years from now, while we wont have progressed as far as needed “technology-wise” relative to the processing of 9–1–1 calls and dispatching, significant strides will have been achieved in our profession.
ESINets, or some variation of, will be in place in a number of states throughout the nation. Some states will be sharing public safety related data across these networks, and those who have really done their homework and shown some initiative will have agreements or MOU’s drawn up which allow neighboring PSAP’s, both intrastate and interstate, to take over PSAP operations completely in the event of an emergency or outright system failure. Unfortunately, the majority of the nation wont be any closer to this connected setting, primarily due to local, state, and federal budgetary restrictions, political pushback, and no nationwide mandate for compliance.
In PSAP’s located within these progressive states, the role of the telecommunicator will have changed dramatically. 5th (or perhaps 6th) generation wireless technology, the evolution of FirstNet, and advanced voice and data capabilities will be funneling a variety of digital information into the call center. The Internet of Things (IoT) will send live camera feeds from a house being broken into, medical information from body worn sensors on an injured person, and warnings of imminent catastrophic equipment failure at a toxic chemical plant, instantaneously to the 9–1–1 desktop. Incident Related Imagery (IRI) in the form of still images, pre-recorded video, and streaming media will arrive, sent in by those trying to report an emergency or criminal situation, or in some cases, by those wishing to carry such a situation out. Text-to-911 will likely be a thing of the past, at least in its 2018 form. 9–1–1 call takers will have to be far more analytical, looking at an incident as it is happening, deciding what information is important to relay, and what is not. Moreover, 9–1–1 personnel will have to keep these lines of communication open throughout an incident, exposing call takers to traumatic imagery, up to and including the viewing of accidental and/or intentional death.
Levels of stress in an already stressful occupation will be exponentially higher in this PSAP of the future, likely exposing 9–1–1 professionals to irreparable emotional and physiological damage. Tenured personnel close to retirement who have operated in an “audio only” environment their entire career may have resigned early as a result of this major change to their profession. Hiring practices for new personnel are now far more comprehensive and targeted, as candidates with greater levels of academic experience are necessary for this now technically complex occupation. A few years prior (2020–2021'ish) the federal government decided reclassification of the 9–1–1 profession was necessary, due to the increasingly demanding nature of the job. This resulted in call takers and dispatchers being compensated at a higher level, and gave those in this vital public safety profession the opportunity to retire with a full pension in far less time. Unfortunately, municipalities hadn’t prepared for these salary increases in advance, so the staffing issues in America’s call centers remain.
“Your safe and sound, back in good old 2018.”
Yes, my thoughts are hypothetical; however my motivation here is not to convince you of my ability to foresee the future. My passion as a 9–1–1 professional (with many years left in his career) is to continue to advance the national dialogue relative to the issue of Next Generation 9–1–1 implementation. If as emergency communications professionals we continue to be dismissive, treating NG9–1–1 as nothing more than a pipe dream, or something that will happen “long after I retire”, we’ll not only be short changing those starting their PSAP careers today, we’ll also be slowing down the progression of a technology which when properly implemented, will likely save the lives of countless 9–1–1 callers and first responders.
Don’t wait for the car to hit 88 miles per hour. Start talking about and planning for the arrival of Next Generation 9–1–1 today!
-DJD
