The Mattapoisett Police Department is pleased to announce that on January 25th an upgrade from the departments’ current E-911 system to the new Next Generation 911 (NG911) system was installed. NG911 is an improvement in emergency call technology created to efficiently handle today’s rising traffic and new technologies.
NG911 will enhance the 911 system to create a faster, more flexible, resilient, and scalable system that allows 911 to keep up with communication technology used by the public. NG911 is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based communication system that runs over a fiber network so it can keep up with communication technologies such as e-mail, text, video and instant messaging. These features are not currently available in our system, but NG911 allows to seamlessly integrate these features as they become available. In the future, citizens in need of emergency assistance will be able to transmit photos, videos and other forms of broadband data and applications to 911 professionals, in addition to making a traditional voice call or sending a text message.
Among several other advantages, the new updates provide a more detailed mapping system that uses the town’s GIS mapping system to better enhance a caller’s location. It also allows the hearing impaired to have easier access to emergency response, provide emergency responders with possible life-saving information before arriving on-scene, and will eventually allow local 911 centers to receive data from in-vehicle crash notification systems.
The new NG911 system and hardware was provided at no cost to the department and is funded by the Massachusetts State 911 Department. Citizens will not notice a difference when calling 911, but rest assure the new system will provide a more accurate, detailed location of callers, whether on a cell phone or a traditional telephone.
