December 30, 2008

NEWS RELEASE

Emergency Response Gets Digital Boost


By Chris Cobb
The Herald-Zeitung

Published December 17, 2008

Texas' emergency response systems could be graduating to the digital age in the coming years.

Although still in its infancy, Next Generation 9-1-1 is a program that could dramatically alter the way residents throughout the state call for help, hoping to utilize modern technology to better save lives.

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"The current 9-1-1 system was based on an analog network that only allows for really a very limited amount of information to be transferred," Comal County Commissioner Greg Parker said. "Next Generation 9-1-1 creates a statewide IP network that will allow for the passing of text messages, video, pictures, a whole host of things. This is a really big step, and I'm excited to be a part of it."

Parker was one of 12 people chosen by Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Commission on State Emergency Communications, which will oversee the project's development.

The impetus for the digital switch, CSEC Executive Director Paul Mallett said, was that although the current 9-1-1 system works well, it wasn't designed to accommodate modern technology.

"This could give us the flexibility to adapt to all of the new consumer technology," Mallett said.

The new system would not only allow emergency responders to be able to process text messages and videos sent by citizens but also could utilize systems such as OnStar to get more accurate data about car crashes and other emergency situations.

The commission will be pushing during this legislative session for funding, which could be around $8 million just to get many of the state-run public safety answering points to convert to digital. Other regional centers then would be converted, and eventually, the entire state.

The task of converting all of the state's more than 570 dispatch centers is a large undertaking, and Mallet guessed that it could be five to seven years before the system could be operational.

"It's not that the 9-11 system we have now doesn't work - It works very well," Mallett said. "But if these new types of information could be relayed to responders, it could make for a much more efficient response."
 

CONTACT: Hon. Gregory E. Parker
ph: (830) 221-1100
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