IWCE 2022: The success, challenges of NG911 and emergency telecommunications

“I’m not going to buy the refrigerator that can call 911, but what about a fire alarm?” asked Gerald “Jay” English, a veteran telecommunication expert, at a kickoff session Monday morning for the IWCE 2022 expo in Las Vegas. The expo and conference will continue through Thursday.

English, a Marine and Air Force veteran with experience in intelligence, has managed emergency telecommunication centers and helped integrate efforts related to Next Generation 911 (NG911) with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is his current role.

With the evolution of all things tech over the last few decades, emergency managers are rightfully considering the ability for their communication systems to keep pace and otherwise connect with disparate operating systems owned by adjacent departments. 

“The emergency communications center of today is not the PSAP (public safety answering point) of yesterday,” said English in his talk, “NG911: Transformative system changes for first responders.”

As a demonstration of this evolution, not one person of the few dozen in attendance raised their hand when English asked if anyone “had less than three screens in your ECC.” Half raised a hand when he asked if anyone had more than five. 

Modern IP-based NG911 systems allow people and components to be located in different locations—an aspect that proved its worth when the pandemic struck last year. Emerging platforms make interoperability between entirely different systems seamless, bringing together adjacent communities in a way that, until now, has been impossible. 

Beyond the communicative advantages, new telecommunication technology is helping communication centers that are increasingly asked to operate with limited staffing under increasing expectations. 

“Anyone here work for an overfunded and overstaffed 911 center?” he quipped. “The only way I would un-retire is if I found one.”

But while it’s necessary, the fiscal challenge has been a difficult one for many communities to overcome since NG911 was created by Congress about a decade ago. It’s one that’s hampered progress and prevented communities from upgrading legacy systems. 

From his experience, English said it’s becoming apparent legislators are realIzing “it’s not going to happen at the local level.”

Federal help isn’t just the solution for funding. There’s utility in NG911 because it extends beyond small towns and county roads. All emergencies start local, English said. Interoperability of voice and data services is critical as incidents expand. 

With NG911’s new technology, however, 21st century problems have emerged. Primarily, cyber security has become a major issue for government organizations of all sizes. 

Given this, when organizations are considering upgrading to NG911, “Cybersecurity has to be paramount,” English said, noting many pieces of communication are vulnerable to cyber threats. “Your system either has been hacked or it will be hacked. That’s not a question anymore. What is a question is ‘how you defend it?’”

To that end, English stressed the importance of ensuring cyber defense measures are “baked in from the start.”

In recent years, emergency telecommunications centers have emerged as vulnerable targets because many have inadequate cyber infrastructure and most public safety personnel aren’t adequately trained, English said.  

To mitigate the threat, he stressed the importance of, along with baking in cyber defense measures, preparing ahead of time with measures such as blocking all non-U.S. traffic and segmenting data networks. 

“We are in the middle of an evolution to nextgen911–but it’s not a revolution,” he said. “It will have its challenges, monetarily and otherwise. But the (goal) is to foster an environment that can build toward it.”