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E911 Hosted Solutions Featured Article
August 05, 2009
E911 Hosted Solutions: E911 Service Adoption Grows as Awareness Builds
By Amy Tierney, TMCnet Web Editor
As a growing number of states adopt enhanced 911, or “E911,” services, more companies are paying attention to the technology, saying the once “nice-to have’ feature is fast becoming a must-have solution, an industry insider told TMCnet in an interview.
Officials with Santa Ana, Calif.-based Conveyant Systems, a supplier of PC-based operator consoles for PBX (News - Alert), Voice over Internet Protocol and Centrex applications, said they are noticing a greater number of organizations- including those with a campus-type environment, multi-site locations, and multi-story buildings - are looking for E911 solutions.
“The world is changing,” Tim Kenyon, president of Conveyant (News - Alert) Systems, told TMCnet in an interview. “People are a little more cautious, a little more aware of what is going on around them.”
E911 uses location-based technology to locate the exact whereabouts of distressed callers, often saving time for emergency responders – and in many cases saving lives. Organizations in all vertical markets are quickly discovering the need for the technology.
“Some of the biggest problems people have had over the years in receiving these calls are request for backup or support and not being able to find where that person is,” Kenyon said. “When you talk about traditional E911 service, the ability to pinpoint or provide location data along with the 911 call when the call is placed, trying to get that level of detail to emergency responders is becoming key. We want to provide accurate location information.”
Conveyant Systems began offering an E911 onsite notification system three years ago. Since then, the technology has evolved. The company now works through a partnership with 911 ETC, an Everett, Wash.-based E911 solutions provider, and, eTelemetry, a company that tracks the movement of VoIP phones for greater E911 compliance, to assist end-users with E911 needs.
“Organizations see the need to provide E911 solutions, and now technology is becoming available,” Kenyon added. “There definitely is an uptick in what people are looking for.”
And it’s showing. Conveyant reported a 15 percent increase in its business this year. Often, a good chunk of the business is part of a larger communications overhaul organizations undertake, and the desire to offer the latest and greatest technology.
For example, the company recently received an order from Princeton University to implement its E911 solution on campus. The technology is slated to be in place this fall, Kenyon said.
In addition, Conveyant plans to deploy its E911 technology for a large government entity looking to update its infrastructure. That project, which includes full, onsite notification and real time updates, and Conveyant’s TeleDirectory Consoles for answering positions will rollout within the next six months, Kenyon said.
Implementing hosted E911 solutions isn’t just the desire of users, but also a state mandate in some locations, Kenyon said. So far, 16 states in the U.S. have some laws pertaining to E911. Massachusetts recently joined other states, including Florida, Texas and Illinois that have such laws.
Conveyant is also working with other manufacturers to embed mapping notification into their consoles, Kenyon said. The firm is teaming up with a Nortel (News - Alert) partner to track and capture radio traffic for first responders that may need to be dispatched to an emergency situation.
What does the future hold? Kenyon predicted steady activity for E911 manufacturers and distributors. In particular, Kenyon said providers can expected to see further developments with E911 technology to track people using wireless devices. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook will likely play a larger role to display E911-related information
“GPS technology is taking a bigger hold of wireless and landline devices,” Kenyon said. The ability to embed GPS technology into E911 solutions is the wave of the future. There will continue to be a consolidation of all of the technology that is currently available today.”
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Amy Tierney is a Web editor for TMCnet, covering unified communications, telepresence, IP communications industry trends and mobile technologies. To read more of Amy's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Amy Tierney
