Intrado Inc., a global provider of integrated data and telecommunications solutions, announced several new services that enable next-generation 9-1-1 capabilities. Intrado ALI Management, 9-1-1 Routing and The Application Framework are part of the Intrado Intelligent Emergency Network, Intrado's next-generation, IP-based emergency communications architecture. The Intelligent Emergency Network is a robust and secure service platform that bridges the gap between the limitations of the legacy 9-1-1 system and the expansion of public safety requirements. The design leverages the improved efficiencies of the Internet Protocol system (using open, ATIS-approved standards) while providing an evolutionary, non-disruptive deployment model.



The new services enable the nation's public safety answering points (PSAPs) to take advantage of next-generation 9-1-1 capabilities that can improve their ability to route and manage 9-1-1 calls, streamline interagency collaboration and support new communications and data types. Specifically:

• ALI Management is a comprehensive solution providing PSAPs with more control over Automatic Location Information (ALI) data provisioning, "drill down" querying capabilities, error correction and customized reporting. The service supports wireline, wireless and VoIP 9-1-1 calls.
• 9-1-1 Routing is a 9-1-1 voice switch and selective router that will enable PSAPs to more efficiently accommodate new technologies like VoIP while providing PSAPs with more control over 9-1-1 call routing throughout their jurisdiction.
• The Application Framework is a secure data access and storage management service that increases a PSAP's ability to control how new types of information (such as transferred notes, maps, caller location data and re-routed calls) is introduced into the 9-1-1 system.
  "The functionality and robustness of these new services reflect Intrado's understanding of the needs of the public safety communications community and the intricacies of the current operating environment," said George Heinrichs, Intrado chief executive officer. "We recognize that we must introduce new technology in a manner that extends and enhances, rather than disrupts, the existing infrastructure, which has been evolving for nearly 40 years."
  
  In 2005 Intrado began to deploy the foundation of the Intelligent Emergency Network with its VoIP 9-1-1 Peering Gateways to integrate VoIP calls into the native 9-1-1 network. Today the Intelligent Emergency Network serves as a portal through which Intrado's VoIP Service Provider (VSP) customers gain controlled access to the nation's 9-1-1 system. The services announced today will enable the nation's PSAPs to use these portals to communicate with each other more efficiently; expand the set of federal, state and local public safety agencies that can interoperate with local 9-1-1; and gain the ability to bring new users and new information sets into the 9-1-1 network with control, security and dependability.
  
  "Intrado's experience and expertise in solving real-world 9-1-1 problems is broad and deep," said Stephen Meer, Intrado chief technology officer and co-founder. "Today's 9-1-1 system includes more than 6,000 different PSAPs with a range of operating environments. We have created next generation 9-1-1 capabilities that accommodate the diverse technological spectrum that exists in today's PSAP community with the explicit goal of leaving no PSAP behind. While the IP innovation explosion we are witnessing today represents great potential for enhancing 9-1-1, this potential is achievable only through a practical approach to implementation, an approach that allows compatibility and coexistence with the installed base."
  
  The Intrado Intelligent Emergency Network and suite of 9-1-1 services interoperate with the ATIS-approved Emergency Services Messaging Interface (ESMI) standard, in keeping with the network's open-architected, standards-based foundation. ESMI has been adopted by the industry as the standard protocol to use in sharing information among and between emergency responder groups at all levels of government. This critical standard is required to help ensure interoperability within the emergency response community regardless of the specific technology a single agency may be using.