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The 9-1-1 Take: Winter 2022
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The 9-1-1 Take with John Hunt
Putting FirstNet to the test for remote operations
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If the 9-1-1 community learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that we need to plan for alternate ways to work. Rather than be tied to workstations at fixed locations, 9-1-1 telecommunicators need flexibility to remotely take, dispatch, and supervise calls. In December 2021, Maryland telecommunicators put FirstNet, America’s public safety broadband network, to the test, demonstrating the network’s connectivity and reliability during remote operations.
Remote call-taking expo
Six counties from across Maryland staged a 9-1-1 expo with live call-taking from a remote and crowded location using FirstNet. The expo was conducted at the Maryland Association of Counties’ winter conference. 9-1-1 specialists from across the state set up call equipment in a large conference room. Of the six counties participating, three agencies were taking live calls from their home counties. The other three agencies were remotely monitoring calls happening at their counties’ emergency communication centers.
FirstNet provided the connectivity from the conference venue back to the local 9-1-1 centers. In the weeks leading up to the event, the participating agencies worked with FirstNet teams to ensure they had coverage, speed, and backhaul for the event.
The results
The expo was a success. With 1,500 attendees at the conference, the biggest challenge reported by the telecommunicators was background noise from the crowds. The technology worked as if they were sitting in their home centers.
“We were able to successfully demonstrate that you can take 9-1-1 calls from anywhere,” said Ross Coates, communications manager for the Harford County 9-1-1 Center. “Today, using FirstNet as our internet service provider or backhaul to connect back to our equipment in our local 9-1-1 centers, we processed many 9-1-1 calls.”
Jennifer Webster is a public safety supervisor with the Harford County Department of Emergency Services. She was at the expo taking live calls from her home county and was pleased with the results. “It went great — everything worked seamlessly,” she said. “And the dispatchers in Harford County had no idea I was the one who took the call from two hours away.”
Return on investment
The expo also served as an opportunity to show Maryland officials the return on their investments. A statewide initiative from the early days of COVID-19 sought to establish the tools and capabilities for remote 9-1-1 operations. The state funded a project to have mobile command posts deployed to centers throughout the state. The expo at the conference demonstrated the success of that initiative.
As elected officials visited the expo, they were surprised at the technology and that multiple counties were fielding 9-1-1 calls from one conference room. Their reaction? “Utter amazement. People are astounded at what we're doing in that room,” said Coates.
“This is a revolutionary technology and we're really happy that we can demonstrate it to all the folks here today,” said Kevin Kinnally, legislative director with the Maryland Association of Counties. “It’s a way for them to see — in action — what their support has meant and what it means for the people on the front lines. This shows the technology that's out there and how amazing it is and what it can do to ultimately save lives across the state and hopefully across the country.”
The case for remote operations
Why are remote operations critical to 9-1-1 centers? The demands of the pandemic crystallized the need for alternative solutions to in-person, fully-staffed emergency communication centers. But COVID-19 is not the only driving force. Remote operations are an important part of disaster preparedness.
For example, during incidents of extreme weather, staff may not be able to physically get to the emergency communication center. One participant recalled having to get a ride from the National Guard in Humvees when snow made the roads impassable for regular vehicles. Another participant noted that, in advance of a forecasted ice storm, equipment was pre-deployed to personnel so they could take calls remotely if needed.
Remote 9-1-1 operations are becoming critical elements of preparedness efforts. “It helps to enhance our continuity of operations plan. It helps to better serve residents in our communities and diversify where our workforce is at,” said Coates.
Your experience
What are your agency’s capabilities for remote operations? Send me an email or find me or one of my colleagues at these events:
This article was first published by the Maryland Association of Counties
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We’re celebrating 10 years of FirstNet! The legislation that established the FirstNet Authority and FirstNet was signed into law on February 22, 2012. We made a promise to the public safety community to create a nationwide public safety broadband network. Today we’re delivering on that promise.
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Watch this video to see how the public safety community made FirstNet a reality. Learn about the past decade of massive progress for public safety communications and how the first nationwide public safety broadband network was built and deployed.
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Want to see FirstNet’s unique features in action? Check out these live demos of Z-axis for finding the vertical location of responders and priority and preemption for keeping first responders connected during network congestion.
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Hear stories from public safety leaders in our series From the Command Center. In the first installment, Pete Landon, Director of Homeland Security and Chief of Staff for the Governor of Maryland, talks about advancing public safety communications and tools to first responders.
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New FirstNet Authority Board Chair Steve Benjamin, who is the former mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, joins our podcast to talk about his experience supporting public safety services at the city and state levels as a government leader and his goals for the future of FirstNet.
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Tech, Innovations, and Hot Topics in 9-1-1
Read what we’ve been hearing from public safety in the field about trends and drivers for 9-1-1 and emergency communications.*
9-1-1 centers receive millions of calls a year that involve mental health or substance abuse issues. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that telecommunicators and dispatchers need more specialized resources, training, and data reporting to be able to better handle behavioral health crisis calls.
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The Boulder FirstNet Lab is a state-of-the-art laboratory in which the First Responder Network Authority tests public safety functionality and features unique to the FirstNet network. For example, using specialized load test tools in the lab, researchers can simulate congestion on the network to show how priority and preemption work for first responders on FirstNet.
Watch the video |
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John Hunt is a Senior Public Safety Advisor and the First Responder Network Authority 9-1-1 Subject Matter Expert. Learn more about John or email him with your questions. |
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Top photo: At the Maryland Association of Counties' winter conference, 9-1-1 specialists set up call equipment in a large conference room and took live calls from their home counties or monitored calls happening at their counties' emergency communication centers.
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*FirstNet Authority may provide hyperlinks for third-party, non-governmental websites in order to offer additional context and added value for our users. FirstNet Authority does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible, nor can it guarantee the validity or timeliness of the content on hyperlinks outside of the federal government. In addition, users may wish to review privacy notices on non-government sites since their information collection practices may differ from ours.
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