Commonwealth of Virginia Approves Statewide Use of AT&T ESInet™ to Transform 911 Communications

The Commonwealth of Virginia 911 Services Board has approved the AT&T* ESInet solution as the recommended platform to provide NextGen 911 communications statewide. The IP-based call routing service uses the National Emergency Number Association’s i3 standards and the core features of AT&T ESInet™ to modernize aging 911 infrastructure.

“We are proud to work with the Commonwealth of Virginia on this critical upgrade of their 911 infrastructure,” said Brian Troup, vice president, AT&T Public Sector. “AT&T ESInet will provide Virginia with an advanced network to better meet the needs of their residents, first responders and 911 dispatchers now and in the future."

With AT&T ESInet, localities across Virginia will be able to:

• Manage how calls and text messages are routed. This helps ensure they reach the desired 911 agency. Location-based, geospatial routing lets public safety answering points (PSAPs) quickly adjust their service boundaries to accommodate emergencies. This allows them to provide a more targeted response and will help save precious time.
• Handle unexpected call volumes. When high call volumes occur, AT&T ESInet can automatically distribute calls to neighboring PSAPs. This makes it easier to speed emergency responsiveness and manage 911 calls.
• Apply dynamic routing capabilities. Using a highly secure, private network connection, PSAPs can set rules for how to route 911 voice calls and text messages. For example, a rule could be set to route all calls originating in a defined area directly to a special command post within a pre-defined event boundary like a college campus. This gives public safety direct, on-site access to 911 callers.
• Maintain service during a natural or man-made disaster. PSAPs across Virginia can access geographically diverse and redundant call processing locations throughout the country for support as they need it.
• Improve incident awareness. Localities that upgrade their 9-1-1 capabilities with AT&T ESInet will be able to support text messages, and in the future, pictures and videos.

“An ESInet will help usher in the future of 9-1-1 in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Steve Marzolf, director of the Integrated Services Program at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). “It will help us in our goal to create and ensure a seamless network throughout the whole state. Existing technology and infrastructure is outdated, but with this contract, Virginia is on the leading edge of emergency communications and services.”

AT&T was previously selected to provide NextGen 911 services in Fairfax County, Virginia. That contract can be used by all of Virginia’s state localities. These localities can notify Virginia’s 911 Service Board of their interest in the contract, reach a participation agreement with AT&T and move forward with deployment.

Using the contract meets state procurement regulations and eliminates the need for localities to spend money and staff time on procurement. Localities also can implement the upgrade through their own procurements or contract vehicles, and only need to notify the 911 Service Board of their decisions to do so.

AT&T ESInet is one of the latest evolving emergency communications tools available to Virginia. In July 2017, Virginia opted in to FirstNet – America’s communications platform purpose-built for and dedicated to first responders. With both AT&T ESInet and FirstNet, Virginia’s public safety community will be able to create an efficient flow of communications from the caller to the 911 call taker to the first responder.

To learn more about AT&T ESInet, go here.