WASHINGTON-The Federal Highway Administration last week released the “presolicitation notice” for the next-generation 911 system, which would overhaul the current nationwide emergency-response system that relies on 6,000 public-safety answering points with divergent ways of handling calls.
“This follow-on project will require the 911 system to transition from analog to digital and from landline to Internet-based protocols. In short, in this follow-on project a fundamental re-examination of the technological approach to 911 is required for the public-safety emergency network adaptations to accommodate the challenges of wireless communications,” according to the document.
“The contractor for this follow-on project will evaluate the system to determine how it supports emergency-call initiation, routing and processing that will ultimately fulfill public-safety emergency response information needs.” the presolicitation adds.
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FHA, a unit of the Department of Transportation, expects to post the complete request for proposals in May with an estimated due date of June 20.
Jenny Hansen, project coordinator and a DoT consultant on the Next Generation 911 Initiative, announced the NG-911 project at a February luncheon briefing for the Congressional Enhanced 911 Caucus. Hansen is expected to provide additional details this week at another Congressional Caucus event.
