Department of Public Safety Communications Announces New Technology Capability

On June 17, the Department of Public Safety Communications will launch the next generation of 9-1-1 called the Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet). The current 9-1-1 infrastructure in Prince William County and across most of the United States is legacy technology that is antiquated and, typically, only allows for the transport and transmission of voice and small packets of data. 

In an emergency, the call being routed to the correct 9-1-1 center and finding the person’s exact location are the two most important elements of the call for a faster emergency response. Because legacy 9-1-1 systems have limited data and internet protocol capability, it is difficult to get more data across these networks, to include being routed to the correct 9-1-1 center and having better location information provided by the cellular wireless carriers. 

Upgrading the 9-1-1 infrastructure to the Next Generation 9-1-1 ESInet, positions Prince William County to begin leveraging modern technology for processing emergency calls, to include better location information from callers and the ability to transfer misrouted calls faster that come into Public Safety Communications and are actually intended for one of the four municipalities that surround the County.   

The department anticipates 9-1-1 eventually having the ability to receive photos and videos in real-time from the public when reporting an emergency. By having the ESInet in place now, Prince William County will be ready to receive those data sets once the technology is ready. 

Prince William County joins a very limited number of municipalities across the country that have launched the Next Generation 9-1-1 ESInet, such as Fairfax, Fauquier and Loudoun counties in the Northern Virginia region. 

For additional information, please contact Director Eddie Reyes at 703-792-7146 or by email at [email protected].