 Nearly fifty years ago, the first 911 call was placed from a bright red telephone in Haleyville, Alabama. Today, telecommunications and the 911 industry look and operate quite differently, with Public Safety Answering Points answering well over 200 million calls each year. The 2017 National 911 Progress Report, just released by the National 911 Program, compiles the latest state and national data about 911 systems. It is an important tool in improving local, state and regional emergency communication systems. A record of 48 states and territories provided information about progress toward NG911, annual funding and revenue, operations and more.
The report summarizes the data gathered from the participating states and territories with the support of the National Association of State 911 Administration (NASNA). The 2017 National Progress Report provides segmented information that state 911 leaders, NASNA members, and legislators can utilize to develop effective policies at all levels of government. Additionally, 911 stakeholders can reference this report when implementing strategies to improve 911 services. A few interesting findings from the report include:
- Twenty-two states reported being in the installation and testing phase of NG911 component implementation; an increase from 18 states in 2016 and 11 states in 2015
- The percentage of calls by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and text-to-911 increased by 20% in the last year
- Among 25 reporting states, there was a collective 623% increase in the number of text-to-911 messages from 2016 to 2017
The full report is available online. For further information, contact Laurie Flaherty with the National 911 Program at Laurie.Flaherty@dot.gov or (202) 366 - 2705.
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