STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (November 16, 2023) — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced that the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA) recently awarded the firm a contract to continue its support regarding the delivery of Next Generation 911 (NG911) service statewide.
NG911 systems represent a tremendous leap forward in terms of emergency response. First, such systems locate emergency callers via geospatial routing that leverages geographic information system (GIS)-generated data, which is timelier and more accurate than the databases used by legacy 911 systems. Second, NG911 systems generate tremendous amounts of data compared with legacy 911 systems, enhancing situational awareness that enables emergency responders to do their jobs more effectively and safely.
The current initiative consists of two tasks. The first is to develop a strategic roadmap for enabling all of Georgia’s emergency communications centers to deliver NG911 services. The roadmap will focus on the following aspects:
- Policy
- Planning
- Operations
- Technology
- Training
- Communication
The second task is to help GECA develop a statewide communications plan designed to keep stakeholders informed as the migration from legacy 911 service to NG911 service ensues. In addition, input will be gathered from stakeholders, which is critical because the migration will affect each ECC uniquely.
The current project continues an engagement that began three years ago. MCP first assessed Georgia’s readiness for implementing NG911 capabilities. The firm now is helping GECA develop a strategic roadmap for procuring and deploying a statewide emergency services Internet Protocol (IP) network (ESInet) and next-generation core services (NGCS). ESInets enable the delivery of emergency calls to NG911-compliant ECCs, while NGCS enable the handling of such calls in the NG911 environment.
MCP is supporting several states in their NG911 migrations in addition to Georgia. Earlier this year, the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board awarded the firm a five-year contract to continue its support of the state’s NG911 migration, which has been ongoing since 2013. As part of the current contract, MCP will provide ongoing assistance regarding NGCS deployment, GIS integration, and specialized training to assist Tennessee’s 134 ECCs with the NG911 migration.
“We’re excited to continue our relationship with GECA, and grateful for the opportunity to keep supporting its efforts to expand this game-changing capability across the state of Georgia,” said Darrin Reilly, MCP’s president and chief executive officer. “Next Generation 911 service will have a tremendous impact on both citizens and emergency responders.”
