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Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025
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Welcome to our monthly update, where we highlight the latest developments, initiatives and exciting changes from ECN. This update is designed to keep you informed and engaged with what's happening within our team.
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Looking ahead to 2026
The Emergency Communications Networks (ECN) team is looking forward to a busy and productive 2026, focusing on three main priorities:
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Business process improvement: ECN will continue evaluating its role in supporting stakeholders at the local and regional levels, as well as the Statewide Emergency Communications Board (SECB) and its committees. The team will also review compliance with state and federal regulations to ensure fiscal responsibility.
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NG911 transition planning: ECN expects to have a facilitator on board in the first quarter of 2026 to begin mapping Minnesota’s transition to Next Generation 911. This will include statewide stakeholder engagement, technology review and financial planning. Updates will be provided in each month’s newsletter as the process progresses.
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Staffing: ECN will hire additional staff this year, including IT support, PSAP support/911 coordinators, business administration and another GIS professional.
Other updates:
- ECN is working with Lumen and PSAPs to replace old 911 circuits with new IP-ready lines that are NG911 compatible and cost less than legacy technology.
- Compliance report materials documenting 2025 spending of 911 funds will be sent out this month. Contact Kent Wilkening with any questions.
- Status Board outages should be reported to the MNIT Service Desk at 651-297-1111. This information is also available on the ECN website under “contact.”
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Help is one text away
Text-to-911 allows you to reach emergency services when you can’t safely make a voice call — whether you’re trapped by a sudden storm, facing an intruder, experiencing domestic violence or witnessing a crime. It’s also a vital first-contact option for people who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing or speech impaired.
Watch how one group of campers got help — all through a single text to 911.
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Help us build the “It’s Your Calling” job board
Reminder: ECN is seeking job postings from PSAPs across Minnesota for the "It's Your Calling" webpage, a centralized resource for telecommunicator openings statewide.
Submitting postings helps raise awareness of this critical profession and connect Minnesotans with meaningful career opportunities.
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Congratulations to ECN's Billie Lebold
911 Business Analyst Billie Lebold was recently presented with the Department of Public Safety’s Service Leadership Award. She was nominated for her professionalism, collaboration and dedication to Minnesota’s 911 system. Billie was instrumental in implementing a statewide 911 mapping solution and coordinated with more than 100 stakeholders to advance the MOU process. While much of her work happens behind the scenes, her efforts strengthen emergency response and enhance public safety statewide.
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Get to know your ECN staff
Joe Fick
Project and Support Services Manager
Joe Fick spent 27 years in the private sector before joining ECN in January 2023 as a project manager. In recent years, he has managed Telco migrations to ECN NextGen Points of Interconnect, interstate transfers and daily ESInet operations.
Joe was recently promoted to project and support services manager, where he provides technical and strategic advice to MNIT and ECN leadership on procurement, system and security standards, long-range planning, strategy, prioritization, daily operations and project planning.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family at the lake.
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