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An effective plan for E911 compliance must address business issues, process management and technology solutions.
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When implementing a complete E911 solution, there are a number of details that need to be addressed. These details require coordination among many parties including internal departments, the dial-tone provider, the PBX vendor and ALI database providers.
The PBX must be capable of out-pulsing the unique telephone number to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for 911 calls. Most new phone systems comply with this requirement. There are also special requirements for remote or branch offices with a gateway.
ISDN PRI or CAMA trunks are required to carry the 10-digit number over the network to the local Central Office and 911 Selective Router. This allows the call to be routed to the appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP), providing a call back number to the PSAP and associating it to the matching location information at the regional ALI database. Each building location on the system that can dial 911, and is outside the 911 jurisdiction of the PBX, must be connected to the appropriate Central Office with local CO trunks in order to ensure proper call routing.
Automatic Location Identification (ALI) or Emergency Response Location (ERL)
ALI, or ERL, is a 20-character field that defines the location of a 911 caller including the floor and room or descriptive area within a building. Each phone that can dial 911 should have a location associated with it at the regional ALI database. Updating and maintaining this critical ALI information at the regional database requires strict management processes and potentially many human resources if you have a complex environment with many moves, adds and changes. RedSky's E911 Manager addresses this issue.
RedSky is a leader in the industry, working with many large organizations to implement E911 for very simple to very complex environments. Through our experience, we've developed an "E911 Risk Assessment," which allows you to assess your E911 risk and receive a customized E911 Readiness Plan. The E911 Readiness Plan is an excellent guide that includes helpful items such as:
Six Steps to E911 Readiness
- Network requirements
- PBX requirements
- 7-digit number (DID) requirements
- Station location information
- ALI Software and interface requirements
- E911 Manager workstation requirements
Some Common Mistakes
- Starting from scratch
- Listing all building locations
- Determining the ISDN PRI line configuration
- Updating switch information before importing
Sample Questions for your Local Fire Marshal
- How should I segment any large open areas?
- Do individual offices need to be clearly marked or numbered?
- Is there a standard set of abbreviations that the fire department recommends when putting together a 20-character location description?
For more information on all aspects of assessing your E911 risk and implementing an effective E911 plan for your organization, including helpful hints on important implementation steps organizations frequently forget, take our free E911 Risk Assessment today.
