NG911 USA: What Cities and States are Migrating Towards NG911 Across America

9-1-1 is one of the most important numbers in the country. It's the number that connects citizens with emergency responders when they need help. And, thanks to a government initiative, our nation's emergency response systems are getting a major upgrade.

More and more local and federal jurisdictions are switching to NG9-1-1 to improve communication during emergencies, natural disasters, and other incidents. With nearly 80% of 9-1-1 calls now coming from smartphones and smart devices, it's more important than ever that our emergency responders have access to life-saving information from an incident as it's happening. 

In this blog post from NG911 providers and experts, NGA, we'll explore the following:

• NG911 in America 
• What cities and states are migrating towards NG911
• What transitioning to NG911 means for American cities and states

Table of Contents:

1. The Early Days of Emergency Response
2. The Beginning of NG911 in the USA
3. Next Generation 9-1-1 Progress in America 
4. Where is NG911 Available in the USA?
5. Conclusion 

People Also Ask:

When was NG911 created?

Planning for NG911 began in 2000. The official plan was published in the NENA’s Future Path Plan in 2001. The NENA NG9-1-1 Project Plan officially launched in 2003. 

What does NG911 do?

NG911 is an infrastructure that allows 9-1-1 call centers to accept and process a wide range of information from citizens in need to the first responders out in the field. This data includes images, text, video, and voice calls. 

The Early Days of Emergency Response

Emergency response teams faced many challenges in the early days of 9-1-1. One of the biggest challenges was communication between dispatchers and first responders. 

First established in the late 1960s, our country's 9-1-1 system was designed for landlines, and emergency personnel had to rely on landlines, which could go busy or out of service at any moment. These unreliable landlines made it challenging for emergency response teams to coordinate their efforts. 

When cell phone use became more common in the late 1990s and early 2000s, 9-1-1 personnel had difficulty responding to these types of calls because emergency response technology needed to support these devices at the time fully. It was nearly impossible for dispatchers to pinpoint a caller's exact location while on a cell phone, making properly responding to an emergency call more difficult.    

Thanks to the creation and deployment of NG911, emergency response teams can now communicate more effectively and respond more quickly to emergency calls.

The Beginning of NG911 in the USA

Following the attacks on September 11th, 2001, it became abundantly clear that 9-1-1 dispatchers, first responders, and other public safety professionals needed a better way to communicate with each other more effectively and share information more quickly. 

The solution created to address this need came from a fully digitized emergency response telecommunications system known as NG911.

NG911, or Next Generation 9-1-1, is a modernized version of the 9-1-1 system that utilizes internet protocol (IP) to route emergency calls and allow real-time text, photo, and video sharing from citizens in need. The telecommunications infrastructure was an essential upgrade designed to help ensure that 9-1-1 communications could keep up with how we communicated then and into the future. 

Next Generation 911 Progress in America 

The development of Next Generation 9-1--1 is an ongoing effort in the United States to upgrade the country's emergency telephone number system since its creation. 

In 2012, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) released a National Roadmap for Implementing the NG911 that outlined a multi-phased approach for deploying system capabilities across the U.S.

Since then, significant progress has been made in deploying Next Generation 9-1-1, with thousands of PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) now having the tools and technology needed to provide more effective emergency response. 

Additionally, organizations like NENA (The National Emergency Number Association) and the NG911 Institute are working with federal and local jurisdictions to support the deployment of Next Generation 911 across the country. 

Where is NG911 Available in the USA?

More than a handful of states and cities across America have already completed the migration to NG911, with many in the process. The following states have either fully migrated to NG911 or are in the process of doing so, according to NENA: 

• California
• Indiana 
• Iowa
• Maine
• Vermont 
• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• Massachusetts
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Tennessee

Additional states and territories also include: Texas, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Florida, Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and more. 

Conclusion

The adoption of NG911 systems is rapidly increasing across the United States. With over 40 states and jurisdictions already on board, more and more public safety professionals have the latest information available to provide the best possible service to our communities. 

Are you a 9–11 professional curious about NG911 implementation in your city or state?

Connect with our experts at NGA to get started today!