NENA-Initiated International Alliance Will Work to Accelerate NG Emergency Communications Globally

New International Alliance, Initiated by NENA, Will Work to Accelerate Next Generation Emergency Communications Worldwide
by NENA CEO, Brian Fontes

A new pact among public-safety organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe will accelerate innovation in the three-digit emergency-communications systems that serve almost 1 billion citizens.

On November 5, I had the honor of representing NENA (alongside President Monica Million and Canadian Director Holly Barkwell) and joining with leaders of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Canada (APCO Canada), the British Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (BAPCO), and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) as we pledged to work together to promote the most current and commonly accepted technologies, standards, and best practices in our field.

Specifically, the alliance will promote standards-based Next Generation emergency-communications frameworks such as the ones enabled by the i3 standard for NG9-1-1 in North America and the NG1-1-2 standard in Europe. Under both frameworks, requests for emergency help are handled in a modern, Internet Protocol-based multimedia environment, as opposed to the voice- and landline-centric frameworks of the past.

Some additional activities planned under the pact include wider dialogue and collaboration in standards development; greater participation in each other’s events; and increased sharing of research findings, training materials, and case studies that can help improve the health, wellness, and performance of emergency-communications professionals no matter which continent they work on. Further, the group hopes to serve as a facilitator for new technologies and services that can improve public safety on a global scale.

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