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Enhanced 911 Program Office 
7300 Perimeter Rd S, Room 128
Seattle, WA 98108-3848
206-296-3910
Fax: 206-296-3909

King County
Office of Emergency Management
3511 NE 2nd Street
Renton, WA 98056-4192
206-296-3038
Fax: 206-205-4056

Next Generation 9-1-1 System (NG911)

The Enhanced 9-1-1 technology was invented for wireline telephones and began to be implemented in the 1980s, since then there have been many changes and advancements to the service driven by new telecommunications services. King County was one of the first communities to implement an Enhanced system in 1985, and has remained at the forefront of providing advanced services since that time. Given that King County is the 13th most populated county in the nation, and that our area is technologically progressive, we are traditionally one of the first markets in which new telecommunications technologies are introduced. As a result, our E9-1-1 system must attempt to continue to advance to provide service to users of these new technologies. Our policy has been to ensure that E9-1-1 service is provided to the public regardless of the technology used to make and transmit the 9-1-1 call.

The latest technology that has been developed is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as Internet or Broadband phone service. There are already many people who have switched their home service from wireline to VoIP, and this technology is expected to eventually replace the wireline telephone networks. There are already over 400 VoIP service providers offering service, and 2.5 million people using VoIP services. In addition, many people are choosing to use personal data devices as their primary form of communication, including people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Another technological advancement is the addition of cameras and video to cell phones. Automatic Collision Notification systems, such as OnStar, are becoming more advanced and are capable of providing critical data about vehicle accidents. The public expectation is that all of these various types of devices should be able to call 9-1-1 and interface to the E9-1-1 system.

In response to this trend, the national 9-1-1 associations and other national standards bodies have been working to develop advancements in E9-1-1 systems to ensure that 9-1-1 service is available to users of these new technologies. The advanced 9-1-1 service has been named "Next Generation 911", or NG911.

King County has already been making enhancements to the E9-1-1 system in preparation for this new service, which includes:

  • Upgrade of the E9-1-1 Automatic Location Information Database System, completed in 2008. King County was the first E9-1-1 system in the nation with the advanced database structure needed for NG911.
  • Upgrades to the E9-1-1 mapping system used to locate 9-1-1 callers, completed in 2007. This included adding the latitude/longitude of all addresses in King County to the mapping system, and the addition of 3-D orthophotography imagery countywide.
  • Several years ago, the E9-1-1 call answering positions at the 9-1-1 centers were upgraded to computerized displays, and these displays will also serve NG911 needs.
  • The E9-1-1 backroom equipment on which the 9-1-1 trunks terminate is being upgraded to interface to an IP 9-1-1 network, scheduled to be complete by the end of 2009.
  • The conversion of the E9-1-1 network to IP telephony is scheduled for fourth quarter, 2009.
  • King County was also one of five 9-1-1 centers nationwide that was selected to participate in a U.S. Department of Transportation NG911 Proof of Concept demonstration in 2008.

The next necessary step is the development of national standards for the NG911 system, and these are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. Once the NG911 system has been fully implemented, the various modern communications technologies that could be used to report emergencies, such as VoIP, Wireless, Short Message Service (SMS), and e‑mail, will be able to interface to the 9-1-1 system. The receipt of data in the form of text messages, pictures, video, and Automatic Collision Notification will be possible.

Please use 9-1-1 responsibly. Call only if you need an emergency response from police, fire or medics. For non-emergencies call your local police or fire department or other appropriate agency.