The nation's venerable emergency 911 system is about to be rescued itself, courtesy of a next-generation 911 program. The project, launched by the National Emergency Number Association, hopes to address issues associated with upgrading the system through the integration of emerging voice, video and data technologies.

The age of terrorism may have put America on permanent Yellow Alert, but cell phones, voice-over IP, text devices, instant messaging, Global Positioning Systems and camera phones have given the nation a universal watchdog. The problem is, the nation's emergency 911 infrastructure has been left behind, a relic largely incapable of accommodating new communication technologies.

The swelling use of cell phones can be seen in statistics kept by the California Highway Patrol, which handles nearly all of that state's wireless 911 calls. Wireless emergency calls exploded from 29,000 in 1985 to 7.2 million in 2001, an average of 821 calls every hour.

In Los Angeles and the Bay Area, average hold time is more than 50 seconds, with waits up to five or 10 minutes common during peak hours. Once the call is answered, crew dispatch is further delayed while operators ascertain the nature and location of the problem. If the caller can't speak, dispatchers can't determine physical location and therefore can't send any help.

While existing 911 systems can be upgraded, the process is slow and expensive. “The speed with which IP technology is moving clearly indicates that cumbersome adaptations won't do the job and would be much more expensive in the long term,” said Roger Hixson, NENA's director of technical issues. “The time has come to bring 911 up to date and make it capable of supporting new technologies and devices on a plug-and-play basis.”

The goal of NG 911 is to identify ways to streamline the ability to handle voice, data, and video 911 calls from “any device, anywhere, at any time,” said NENA Executive Director Robert Martin.

NG 911 began in January with a national management meeting of program partners, followed by periodic roundtables.