Case Studies

Evolving 911 networks An average of 240 million 911 calls are made every year in the US, 80 percent of which are from wireless devices.¹ The growing number of calls placed by wireless devices present a huge challenge for dispatchers and responders: accurate location data. Behind the scenes are regional programs like the North Central Texas Emergency Communications District (NCT9-1-1 for short), which is responsible for planning, implementing, and maintaining the emergency 911 system for more than 40 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) across 13 counties outside the Dallas Fort Worth metro area. Not only is geocoding a 911 call with an addressable location difficult, but pinpointing where in a large building a call is coming from is also a problem. NCT9-1- 1 works with local Addressing Authorities to update address points, however, these local authorities are oen underfunded with few resources to capture new roads and structures—leaving the program GIS incomplete. The program's innovative spirit led them to Maxar for a new age solution. Maxar Building Footprints delivers precision, GIS-ready polygons for expedited analysis for organizations across all industries. EVOLVING 911 NETWORKS WITH ECOPIA BUILDING FOOTPRINTS info@maxar.com maxar.com how 911 calls work When you call 911, the system routing your call is managed by a regional program like NCT9-1-1. The dispatchers who take the call work at the PSAPs, who in turn notify the closest available emergency responders. The tricky part is that the emergency responders are responsible for their own navigation systems. So, the more information NCT91-1-1 can provide to the PSAP about the location of the call, the more quickly responders can take action regardless of whether their system is up to date or not. case study On Jan 22, 2018, a 911 emergency call came from a high school in the North Texas town of Italy. To pinpoint the location of the call, NCT9-1-1 used building footprints to confirm the call was next to a building wall located in the center of the south building, between both buildings. ¹National Emergency Number Association. 9-1-1 Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.nena.org/page/911Statistics

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