Report: Universal 9-1-1 Deployment a Challenge
Discusses nationwide status of NG9-1-1 deployment
June 18, 2025 – Intrado Life & Safety Inc., led by CEO Matt Carter, released its 2025 report on the state of the 9-1-1 industry, highlighting challenges and changes that public safety stakeholders are facing.
The report, released Tuesday, focused on the rollout of Next Generation 9-1-1. According to the report “NG9-1-1 is a modern emergency response system that incorporates digital and internet-based technologies over an IP-based network.”
Based in Longmont, Colorado, Intrado specializes in emergency communication services. Its report claims that the technology is capable of allowing operators to be able to access dynamic location data of callers, crash data from vehicle-installed telematics devices, and altitude and floor plans from the caller’s location.
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It is also capable of supporting text messaging and video chatting between callers and 9-1-1 operators, and can more efficiently route emergency messages to the right call centers–and reroute those messages in the event that the call center is offline or otherwise unavailable.
Despite the promises of NG9-1-1, universal deployment remains a challenge. According to the report, approximately 35 states have begun to establish an ESInet, a necessary prerequisite for NG9-1-1.
However, the report also stated that “no state has implemented end-to-end NG9-1-1 with all the Public Safety Answering Points [call centers] and Originating Service Providers [initial 9-1-1 connection providers] in the state.”
In addition to challenges with deployment, challenges with implementation remain. The report found that among call centers with text-to-9-1-1 enabled, approximately 10% of messages go unanswered, and some call centers with the capability fail to answer nearly all incoming text messages.
Despite these challenges, Intrado was optimistic that NG9-1-1 will save lives and that the emergence of new technologies, such as AI, will help public safety systems become even more effective.
“This insightful report not only celebrates the impressive strides made in the evolution of 9-1-1, but also illuminates the challenges and opportunities that remain,” said Brian Fontes, CEO of National Emergency Number Association: The 9-1-1 Association. “It’s a powerful reminder of how critical it is to align 9-1-1 with the way people communicate today.”
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Intrado’s headquarters was in Omaha, Nebraska. While a separate division of a company (West Technology Group) that was once owned by Intrado is based there, Intrado's headquarters is Longmont, Colorado. The story has been corrected.
