911 Services

Across the country, E911 legislation is becoming a priority for many organizations. In fact, 22 of the U.S. states have proposed or enacted E911 regulations to ensure compliance and avoid potential fines and penalties.

The latest state to propose E911 legislation, Michigan is committed to enforcing that organizations implement E911 in an effort to locate callers more rapidly, minimize property damage, ensure safety for employees, and, most importantly, save lives.

Of the 22 states, 17 states have already passed E911 legislation. As one of the states with pending E911 MLTS laws, Michigan is focusing mainly on the level of location granularity provided to the PSAP based on the type of business location, ranging from a single, one-story building to a multi-story, multi-building campus.

Once legislation is enacted (expected by December 2011), Michigan will require operators of MLTS (multi-line telephone systems) to route 911 calls and precise location data to the appropriate local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) during 911 calls. Michigan’s pending legislation calls for the following, as outlined in a webinar hosted by 911 services expert 911 Enable (News - Alert):

Granular location information: Depending on the built form housing the caller, there are particular details required in the location data sent to the PSAP. For example, a single one-story building, which is less than 40,000 square feet in area, would require the caller’s “specific location” and building street address to be included in the location information delivered to the PSAP. The proposed legislation defines “specific location” as “a room or unit number, or room name, or equivalent unique designation of a portion of a structure or building to which a 9-1-1 emergency response team may be dispatched, and the caller quickly located, that is not more than 7,000 square feet.” For a one-story, multi-building campus with a combined total area of greater than 40,000 square feet and a common public address, the caller’s specific location, a unique building identifier and the building’s street address would need to be provided in the 911 call’s location data delivered to the PSAP.

Dialing instructions: An organization must post emergency dialing instructions within five feet of any communications device if the MLTS does not allow the direct dialing of 911.

Non-compliance penalties: If an organization does not follow E911 protocol, it may be hit with a penalty ranging from $500 to $5,000 for each offense.

911 Enable’s E911 solutions meet the requirements of Michigan’s proposed E911 legislation, thanks to granular location provisioning; real-time master street address guide validation; automatic IP phone discovery; support for organizations requiring connectivity to multiple PSAPs; as well as security desk routing and notification. Its Network Operations Center is also available 24/7/365.

To learn more, check out 911 Enable’s webinar on Michigan’s pending E911 legislation by clicking here.

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein