In late 2010, L.R. Kimball surveyed public safety organizations from New England to the west coast to gauge the status of NG9-1-1 implementation and identify areas of concerns among the organizations. Survey findings revealed that an overwhelming majority of respondents have advanced to Wireless Phase II deployment status. However, even with this advanced technology, most struggle with response delays or misrouted responses due to GIS or other database problems.
Other findings included:
- 74% of respondents are in the NG9-1-1 planning phase, with 13% at the implementation stage and 13% reporting no plans for NG9-1-1
- 87% of respondents are at a Wireless Phase II status for 9-1-1 centers
- 80% of respondents rank GIS data as a high or number one priority
- Of the respondents who experienced delays or misrouted response because of issues related to data, most of those issues involved in accuracies within the data, or incomplete or missing data within the GIS data
- Additionally, half of the respondents indicated that inaccurate GIS data or lack of regular GIS data maintenance concerned them the most when it came to GIS data
- Only 52% of respondents were aware of the NENA document entitled “Synchronizing Your GIS Data with Your MSAG and ALI Databases,” released in the fall of 2009 to assist 9-1-1 centers with improving data accuracy across existing 9-1-1 datasets.
- Only 1 in 4 respondents have started to implement this synchronization across the datasets.
These findings confirm what many in the industry have often assumed – although NG9-1-1 remains a national priority, communities and public safety organizations all across the nation have several operational considerations to plan for, including many related to GIS accuracy and maintenance.
Managing & Storing NG9-1-1 Location Data
NG9-1-1 will be data-driven from beginning to end. As a result, public safety organizations will need to review the way they manage and maintain GIS data. To ensure proper accuracy and maintenance, organizations need a roadmap that can guide them during the operational planning and budgeting process.
There are four guidelines that agencies should keep in mind as they develop their roadmap:
- GIS data must be accurate
- Data maintenance is essential. Address information can quickly become outdated and incorrect data can break down the call routing process.
- Work together with network partners to develop and use standardized data.
- Policy and governance coordination is key to ensuring GIS data accuracies.
The Next Generation from L.R. Kimball
L.R. Kimball has been designing, consulting on and managing the development of emergency systems and networks for more than 50 years. This includes more than 20 years of experience developing and implementing comprehensive GIS data technology and collection methodologies. Our staff members have helped agencies create policies and procedures, evaluate hardware and vendors, design networks, and develop and maintain data as communities move toward NG9-1-1.
If you’re facing an NG9-1-1 challenge, be it operational, funding or data related, we encourage you to spend some time on our website, download our white papers or give us a call. Click here to download our latest white paper, The Critical Role of GIS in NG9-1-1.
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