Funding from the .CA Community Investment Program supports next generation 9-1-1 services

Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group receives funding for research to help advocate for national service standards

OTTAWA, May 28, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - 9-1-1 is a critical way for citizens across Canada to access necessary emergency services, but these services remain generally rooted in traditional landline technologies. With a new grant from the .CA Community Investment Program, the Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group is working to ensure that Canadian communities can coordinate their transition to next-generation 9-1-1 services and deploy solutions that can work across the country to potentially take advantage of photo and video sharing and other mobile applications.

As a critical first step toward the development of a Canadian next-generation 9-1-1 strategy, this grant will permit CITIG to consult 9-1-1 stakeholders on the best way to organize those interested to ensure that there is a national organization that is able to bring a focus to 9-1-1 policy and technology issues.

Key facts

• The current 9-1-1 system is not nationally coordinated, with each province or municipality deploying a system that works for their individual needs. The imminent deployment of next-generation 9-1-1 services means that the country has an opportunity to deploy technologies that would allow emergency personnel to work more closely together and share resources.
• Next-generation 9-1-1 services are IP-based and take full advantage of powerful mobile technologies, from texting, to social media, to video and photo posts. Unfortunately, these technologies also have the potential to place strain on the existing 9-1-1 system by adding requirements for monitoring media such as photo, video or text messages.
• The Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group is working with stakeholders to ensure that communities across the country can deploy next generation 9-1-1 services in ways that keep costs under control and leverage investments between communities. For instance, greater interoperability could mean that a smaller community could link their 9-1-1 system with a county or regional system, getting access to a greater variety of services at a lower cost.
• Threats facing Canadian communities are also evolving and require solutions that span both geography and jurisdiction. For example, ensuring that local police can coordinate with their provincial or federal partners during a crisis could be important when dealing with threats of terrorism or catastrophic weather events that cross jurisdictional boundaries.

Executive quotes

"It is critical that we take a thoughtful and organized approach to Canada's evolution to a next generation 9-1-1 system. These technologies will change the way that Canadians interact with their emergency services and there is so much potential. With this funding from the .CA Community Investment Program, we are going to bring together the stakeholders working on 9-1-1 technology nationally and coordinate a national conversation on how to operate these services for the benefit of all Canadian communities."
- Eric Torunski, Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group

"The .CA team has a legacy of convening national conversations on technology as part of our role in improving the Canadian Internet, so funding this project to drive a national consensus on how next generation 9-1-1 services will operate was an excellent fit for our program. This is a case where the benefit of the technology is clear, but the path forward requires consideration and dialogue."
- David Fowler, director of marketing and communications for .CA

Additional resources

• Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group was one of 25 projects funded through the .CA Community Investment Program today. For a full listing of the projects, please visit cira.ca/cip.

About .CA and the Community Investment Program

Through the Community Investment Program, .CA funds projects that demonstrate the capacity to improve the Internet for all Canadians. The .CA team manages Canada's country code top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. A Member-driven organization, .CA represents the interests of Canada's Internet community internationally.

SOURCE Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)

Ryan Saxby Hill, Communications Manager for .CA, 613-316-2397, [email protected]