Technology set to change the way everyone will communicate with 911 dispatchers

KEARNEY, Neb. — Imagine sending videos and pictures to the 911 dispatcher as an accident is happening.

Soon everyone in the state will be able to do that with the Next Generation 911 (NG911) system.

The state has begun the implementation of NG911 as it connects the first of seven Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) regions to the state's new Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet).

"We are excited to announce that the implementation of NG911 in Nebraska is on the way with the connection of the South-Central/Panhandle region of PSAPS to the ESInet,” said Commissioner Mary Ridder, District 5. “This is a big step in the migration of the entire state to the Nebraska Next Generation 911 service system, and it was made possible through the collaboration of our public and private partners."

“Twenty of our 22 PSAPs of the South-Central/Panhandle region are now receiving calls via a secure IP network which is the backbone of Next Generation 911 services," said Buffalo County Sheriff Neil Miller.

Miller said the remaining two PSAPs will join the region with the NG911 system in the upcoming weeks.

"I am very excited about the Next Generation 911, the deployment in the South-Central/Panhandle region of Nebraska,” Miller said. “This will allow new technology within 911 services to be available to our citizens as we move forward."

In 2018, LB993 was signed into law continuing the 911 Service System Act, and providing for the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) to implement NG911 services in the state.

NG911 is the transition from the current statewide Legacy 911 system to an Internet Protocol (IP) based system, which uses high-speed data connectivity and will allow people to send voice messages, texts, pictures, videos and livestreams to dispatchers.

This NG911 system will also allow for Geospatial Call Routing.

“You have a car out in the interstate, they have a crash, and automatically the crash data out of the car is sent to the 911 dispatcher through the Geospatial Routing, with all the information about whether or not the airbags have deployed, whether or not there’s possibility of injuries as a result of what happen, it opens up a live audio too,” Miller said.

Miller also said that with the current statewide Legacy 911 system, there is a struggle for dispatchers to know the exact location of people in rural areas.

“With Geospatial Routing that is going to change how accurate that information is," Sheriff Miller added. "Even in those areas that might have one cell tower for a very large geographic area, it is going to give us better opportunity to pinpoint from where people are calling from,”

Ridder said the goal is by the end of this year to have the seven Public Safety Answering Points or 911 centers equipped with the first technology layer of the NG911.

“This journey has been going on for quite some time, this is a very complex, complicated transition that requires a lot of planning and a lot of coordination," said Lumen National Sales Director of Public Safety Jim Carlson.

As for now, the 911 centers with this technology can only receive texts and calls. Ridder said by 2024, all 911 centers in the state will have the full technology.

The remaining six PSAP regions without the NG911 installed include East Central 911, Metro, Mid-East Regional 911, North Central, Northeast Nebraska 911 and Southeast 911.

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