Would NG9-1-1 have prevented derecho-caused outage?

Following a late June violent and fast-moving storm that left an estimated 2.3 million Northern Virginia residents without 9-1-1 service for as many as 4 days, the Federal Communications Commission issued Aug. 1. a notice of inquiry seeking further information on its causes and effects.

Failures of the 9-1-1 system as a result of the fast-moving storm--which also killed 22 people and left 4.3 million without power for days, some for weeks--"also give rise to concerns and questions about the reliability and resiliency of our 9-1-1 communications networks nationwide," the FCC notice of inquiry states.

Among the questions the inquiry seeks to answer is whether deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1, which would incorporate Internet protocol into the 9-1-1 system framework, will improve reliability.

NG9-1-1, the inquiry notes, could create the ability to utilize a virtual public-safety answering point (i.e., the call center where emergency calls get answered). Today's PSAPs are very much brick-and-mortar affairs, but in a NG9-1-1- network, a call taker would be able to answer a 9-1-1 call from virtually any location.

For more:
- go to the FCC notice of inquiry

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