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Bell Canada (News - Alert) recently published version 16 of their 9-1-1 Public Emergency Reporting Service (9-1-1 PERS). It is known as BID-0013, and raises some concerns.

Version 16 provides new data interfaces and protocols that are natively based on TCP/IP. They relate to features and capabilities required by Canada’s CRTC, which is the Canadian version of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

“Although this is certainly a step in the right direction, it fails to mention geospatial routing, as well as SIP or the NENA i3 framework document,” according to an analysis by Mark J. Fletcher, who manages Product Strategy and Vision for Public Safety Solutions at Avaya.

“One of the most radical pieces of this, in my opinion, is the timeframe for implementation, and some significant milestones are going to be put into place along the way,” Fletcher added. “For example: the list of current interfaces, including ALI display screens, will only be supported until such a time that the existing network is replaced by this new architecture. Probably one of the most alarming parts of this is that the transition phase is expected to start January 1, 2013 with its completion by the end of 2014. That's just 2 short years, which is probably one of the most aggressive schedules I've heard to date. To make matters worse, once the TCP/IP, XML-based ALI becomes available, the old model of ANI/ALI will no longer be needed, and therefore decommissioned.”

Also, when it comes to the enterprise network, if the caller ID on an emergency call is still sent by the system, a move to IP-based call delivery to 911 will happen in the carrier network, Avaya (News - Alert) said. It is the carrier's responsibility.

“The same logic would be applicable to residential services, as well as well as anyone else that maintained their legacy connectivity to the PSTN,” Fletcher added.

The PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) will be impacted, too. Problems could arise when there are power outages. Nor is there clarity about the new document.

“Apparently, there has been quite a bit of confusion in the PSAP,” Avaya said. “Initially, they were told that this upgrade would not affect their budgets. But when you examine the communications requirements that need to exist at the service demarcation point, the story seems to change a little bit.”

Even mid-sized centers will find it difficult to interpret the document, Avaya said.

“All of a sudden, and possibly without them realizing it, their public safety budget now has to include a significant line item for network conductivity, and a person to maintain it,” Avaya added.

Given these challenges, Fletcher says he wants a “planned, well-managed project” and there should be buy-in from all of the agencies involved.