The transition from E911 to NG911 represents a significant shift aimed at enhancing emergency communications across North America. It’s not just a technical upgrade—it’s a monumental leap toward faster, more dependable emergency communications for today’s digital age.
While the IP transition has been long in coming, the FCC’s Report and Order 24-78, should significantly help push implementing NG911 across North America forward. While the industry continues to work toward advancing emergency calling benefits for consumers in the years ahead, making the jump won’t come without complexity.
Read on for more on:
- How we got to this NG911 moment
- What it takes to be NG911 compliant
- And how Bandwidth helps customers hit the proverbial ‘easy button.’
What is the FCC Report and Order 24-78?
Be warned, we’re about to dive into some dense regulatory stuff. (Unless you read telecom law for fun, this may feel like a section you want to skip, but resist the urge—it’s an important part of the puzzle.)
On July 18, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released new regulations for Facilitating Implementation of Next Generation 911 Services (NG911) (See: FCC Report and Order 24-78.)
Helpful terms to know here:
Docket: An FCC case file with a unique number to keep track of all the documents—listed in chronological order—relating to the specific FCC proceeding.
Report and Order (R&O): The final FCC decision to amend, create, or upkeep a rule.
What is the goal of the FCC Report and Order 24-78?
These new nationwide NG911 transition rules define the responsibilities and set deadlines for OSPs to implement NG911 capabilities on their networks and deliver 911 calls to NG911 systems.
As stated in the FCC press release, the Report & Order FCC 24-78 will “expedite the transition to Next Generation 911, [to] help ensure that the nation’s 911 system functions effectively, and support the deployment of advanced 911 capabilities—including video, text, and data—that will help first responders save lives.”
To summarize: the goal of the expedited transition to NG911 is to improve service reliability and create faster call delivery to save lives.
What does the FCC Report and Order 24-78 require?
The FCC’s new regulations mandate that all OSPs, including interconnected VoIP providers, deploy to NG911 networks in two phases. The local 911 Authority, which can be a state, region, or county, controls the timeline of these new regulations by making a Phase 1 or Phase 2 request to all the OSPs that serve the 911 Authority’s service area.
There are two phases to these new FCC Report and Order 24-78 requirements:
Phase 1
Upon receiving a valid Phase 1 request from a 911 Authority, an OSP must commence delivery of 911 traffic in IP-based Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) format to one or more in-state NG911 Delivery Points designated by the 911 Authority. Bandwidth is already doing this in various regions of the country–delivering 911 calls via VoIP to designated interface authority points.
Phase 2
Upon receiving a valid Phase 2 request from a 911 Authority, an OSP must commence delivery of 911 traffic to the designated in-state NG911 Delivery Point(s) in an IP-based SIP format that complies with NG911 commonly accepted standards identified by the 911 Authority, including having location information embedded in the call signaling using Presence Information Data Format—Location Object (PIDF-LO) or the functional equivalent.
What are the deadlines for Phase 1 and Phase 2?
Both phases have a six-month deadline for urban and suburban OSPs (non-rural, wireline providers, nationwide CMRS providers, covered text providers, and interconnected VoIP providers) to comply from when the 911 Authority requests it. For Rural LECs (RLECs), non-nationwide CMRS providers, and internet-based TRS providers, the deadline is twelve months from the date of the request.
It’s also worth noting that Phase 1 and Phase 2 requests can be made sequentially or concurrently.
And that’s it! Our experts have been engaged in the arduous efforts to upgrade our nation’s 911 infrastructure for many years, so feel free to reach out for more help with the implications stemming from this R&O; otherwise, let’s jump directly into the matter at hand.
What is NG911, and why should we transition to it?
Most legacy 911 systems, including E911 (Enhanced 911), were built on antiquated analog technologies or legacy digital technologies (T1 or CAMA) rather than modern IP-based ones. However, modern regulations mandate that all systems handling and delivering 911 calls to PSAPs must be upgraded to NG911, a digital, IP-based system to replace decades-old analog infrastructure in the U.S.
Why? NG911 promises to enhance emergency calling services with a faster, more resilient system that seamlessly transmits voice, photos, videos, and text messages from the public to the 911 network, including Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and first responders. It will also help PSAPs manage call overload and natural disasters and transfer 911 calls using caller location data.
The transition to NG911 involves more than just new hardware and software. Implementing NG911 in states, regions, and counties all across North America requires careful coordination between OSPs, emergency communication authorities, public safety, and legislative and governing entities.
Yes, it may seem like a tall task, but there’s no room for compromise when it comes to life-critical communications.
What is Bandwidth doing in terms of the transition to NG911?
Simply put…we’re doing a lot. But only so you don’t have to!
Bandwidth operates one of North America’s most comprehensive Emergency Services Access and Aggregation Networks, built on one of the largest IP Peering Networks available. For over five years, we’ve collaborated with emerging NG911 networks to implement Phase 1 requests. Our extensive IP-based infrastructure incorporates advanced edge gateway technologies, enabling seamless connectivity to both legacy E911 networks and the evolving NG911 systems.
The bottom line for our customers: Bandwidth ensures that your VoIP 911 calls and data reach the proper PSAP in the correct, validated format in order to capture the benefits of NG911 calling to the greatest degree possible.
What does this mean for you?
Nothing but good news. (Told you we’re on top of this!)
With Bandwidth actively engaged in FCC proceedings and collaborating with key NG911 industry members NG911, we’re working to ensure our customers enjoy as seamless a journey through the IP transition to full-fledged NG911 ecosystems as possible.
If you’re a Bandwidth customer:
- Don’t be confused if you receive requests from NG911 networks to connect to them. You can rely on Bandwidth to manage the varying requests for NG911 connectivity as your underlying network routing solution.
- You can leverage Bandwidth’s efforts to connect with emerging NG911 networks without altering your existing IP Peering setup with Bandwidth.
- Our advanced routing services allow us to take your calls directly via VoIP and route them to the correct PSAP in the new required format.
Our Emergency Services Team, including Product, Legal, Regulatory, and Operations, will continue to monitor evolving NG911 network deployments and ongoing FCC regulatory developments.
If you have questions about NG911 or what this means for your business, don’t hesitate to contact one of our experts.
Note: The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, the information is for general informational purposes only.
