News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren B. Kallens" <>]

Leading Research Universities And Technology Companies Showcase First
Next-Generation IP-Based Emergency 911 Solution

**Team from Columbia University, Texas A&M and Other Leading Organizations
Develop and Demonstrate Long-Term IP-Based 911 Technology**

Washington DC - May 26, 2005 - Today at the National Press Club, researchers
from leading universities and technology companies will provide the first
ever demonstration of a next-generation 911 (NG9-1-1) prototype solution
that was developed to address the time-critical issue of locating users of
Internet-based phones and other Internet-enabled communication applications
to ensure they receive the vital help they need when they need it.

"Internet phone customers are expected to top 25 million in the next several
years. In order for this rapid adoption to persist and innovation in
consumer communications to continue to develop, it is critically important
that there be a technically sound and scalable 911 solution in place to
ensure public safety for all Americans," said Dr. Henning Schulzrinne, a
lead NG9-1-1 developer and chair of computer science at Columbia
University's Fu Foundation, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "The
NG9-1-1 technology showcased today represents the first long-term solution
for the future of the emergency services network."

This proof-of-concept demonstration will highlight the capabilities of an
Internet-based emergency call delivery system for nomadic and mobile Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) users to an IP-capable PSAP (Public Safety
Answering Point). The existing circuit-based 911 system is limited in its
ability to support new technology like VoIP telephone calls in which a
user's IP address is not specifically assigned to any one geographic
location. This makes it challenging for 911 dispatchers to accurately
identify a caller's location.  

"Despite the Federal Communications Commission latest ruling requiring VoIP
providers to offer 911 service, technological obstacles mean there is no
quick fix for all VoIP scenarios using today's 911 network.  End-to-end IP
calling to 911 will require a different type of network," said Paul Mallett,
executive director, Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications. "We
believe this NG9-1-1 technology will greatly enhance overall 911
reliability, improve the quality of response, enable greater call center
redundancy, and provide inherent scalability as new communications
technologies are adopted by the public."

In addition to seamlessly providing dispatchers accurate location
information for 911 users, the NG9-1-1 system is also designed to provide
multimedia capabilities. For instance, callers using the NG9-1-1 system in
the future will have the ability to provide video from the emergency scene
to dispatchers or will allow a responder to send video instruction (e.g.
CPR) to the emergency site.

The NG9-1-1 technology was developed by researchers from the Department of
Computer Science at Columbia University and the Internet2 Technology
Evaluation Center at Texas A&M University in partnership with University of
Virginia, Internet2, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the
offices of Emergency Communications for the States of Texas and Virginia as
well as with the help of leading technology companies like Nortel, MapInfo
Corporation, and others. The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration's Technology Opportunities Program provided grant funding for
the project.  For a full list of participants and for more information,
please see:  http://ng911.tamu.edu


Media Contact:
Lauren Kallens
Internet2
202.492.5702