Webinar 49
The National 911 Program
December 14, 2022
Summary of the Federal Highway Administration’s Quarterly Webinar
Background
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) promotes geographic information systems (GIS) as a means to manage and improve transportation systems more effectively. One of the ways that FHWA does this is through its GIS in Transportation program1, which identifies timely and critical GIS issues and topics in transportation and connects transportation agencies with available resources and best practices. The webinar summarized here is part of a quarterly series organized through the GIS in Transportation program.
In this webinar, Kate Elkins (Katherine.Elkins@dot.gov) an EMS/911 Specialist with the National 911 Program, Office of Emergency Medical Services, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) presented on the development and current status of the National 911 Program. The result of the National 911 Program will be a national GIS data sharing strategic plan with tools and resources to help state and local entities achieve their Next Generation 911 (NG911) goals.
Introduction
Emergency systems are moving towards developing NG911 which involves using voice over IP technology system and highly accurate and robust GIS data to route calls to the correct 911 center and emergency location. Its purpose is to get responders quickly and accurately to the right place at the right time to save lives. There are between 5,000 and 6,000 911 centers across the country. These centers are located and regulated at the local and state level. In many areas NG911 technology is not yet implemented, so 911 systems are not unified throughout the country.
The purpose of the National 911 Program is to advance NG911 across the country, promote the development of a consistent NG911 model, and to develop a 911 GIS data sharing strategic plan. The National 911 Program has been in place since 2002. It included administrating two grant programs for $140 million, which were complete in September 2022. It has also tested a prototype of an NG911 network, established a National 911 Resource Center, completed Annual Reports, and delivered a NG911 Cost study to Congress. The program continues to advance NG911 for local and state stakeholders by creating and sharing resources through the National 911 Resource Center, collaborating with stakeholders to find best model, and monitoring the progress of NG911 transition with the NG911 Roadmap.
The two websites related to the National 911 Program which have extensive resources are 911.gov, which includes a GIS section, and ems.gov.
Questions & Answers
This description of NG911 development reminds me of the early stages of development of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). How does the National ITS Architecture inform the current NG911 development? For example, are the performance specifications for NG911 generated through the architecture? Similarly, have the needs you are identified being integrated into architecture user bundles?
Yes, it is similar to the development of ITS. I do not know how those inform each other. It is a concern that our 911 community has been siloed from our transportation community and vice versa. I can connect you to the person who can speak about architecture.
How do you deal with the fact that NG911 is used for a specific purpose and DOT LRS system is used for a different purpose? How do you best bridge the gap between the two?
911 community is getting better at updating their data on a regular basis and sharing the data. The National Address Database is an example of collaboration. We need to better collaborate between entities with traffic and transportation data and 911 data, which is one of the challenges. There was a 911/NG911 Peer Exchange with several states in the summer of 2022 with State DOT and E911 personnel presenting and working on collaboration between departments.
Nebraska shared that they have a statewide NG911 street centerline, but at Nebraska DOT maintains our own local roads due to their data needs. In contrast Kansas DOT and Kansas NG911 completed a project to create one centerline.
Once we have data transformed to match the NENA NG911 GIS Data Model, is there a specific organization that we should share it with?
The National Association of State 911 Authorities (NASNA) will know who the right 911 people are in your community. An example of coordination through the NASNA 911 authority is Alabama 911 and Kansas utilizing grant funding and working with tribal authority. State data can also be shared with the National 911 Address database.
Is Federal DOT putting together a routable national dataset?
Yes. FHWA Office of Policy is in the process of bringing all the state networks together through the HPMS process. They are now working on connecting the networks at state boundaries, and other related issues. The dataset is not complete, but they are working towards a national dataset.
Does Steve Lewis have anything to add regarding the National Address Database?
The National Address Database has over 34 state partners that are providing a rollup of addresses from county, city, and tribal governments. There are also some counties and tribes sending directly to the Database since there are some states that don’t have a rollup. Regarding a routable network, some states are combining their addresses with a routable network for NG911.
National Address Database (NAD)
National Address Database Story Map
How is working with Federal Lands and Military?
Department of Defense is a strong partner, and they are building how DOD across the whole enterprise is going to migrate to NG911. They are problem solving how they are going to share their GIS data, and how their on-base and off-base 911 centers share data.
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