NENA Member Spotlight: Skip Dalton, 911 Administrator, Frontier Communications

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Skip Dalton: My Name is Homer "Skip" Dalton and I am employed at Frontier Communications as their 911 Administrator covering their footprint in Ohio. I obtained my employment at General Telephone Company in Norwalk, Ohio on February 28, 1972 as a Central Office Installer and I have stayed employed with the company as it has changed from General Telephone Company – to "GTE" – then Verizon, and finally Frontier Communications. Feb. 28, 2014, was my 42nd service anniversary. 

In 1974, I was in charge of the deployment of a new "Step-by-step" Central Office in Milan, Ohio, and as part of that installation we deployed basic 9-1-1 services to the Milan Police department. The service consisted of the switch connecting talk battery to a local cable pair, which rang a "POTs" phone that set on the desk at the police department. That was my first introduction to 9-1-1, and 9-1-1 has been a part of my life ever since. 

I have been involved with 9-1-1 in many different capacities in telecommunications. I have installed 9-1-1 CPE and Network services as well as having Supervised Business technicians in Ohio that have installed all phases of 9-1-1 services, from the 9-1-1 Selective Router all the way to the PSAP, including PSAP "CPE" equipment. As a 91-1 project manager, it was especially rewarding to work directly with PSAPs when they were initially installing 9-1-1 service or upgrading their PSAP equipment to newer technologies.

As a current member of the Ohio ESINet technical Subcommittee, I am thrilled to see 9-1-1 embracing the challenges of the digital age as we're preparing for Next Generation 9-1-1 in Ohio.