The communications industry the question

If you ask people in the communications industry the question: "What does E911 as a matter of fact mean?" you will likely get different answers.

More often than not, even seasoned veterans confuse E911 with public safety answering point equipment. Nevertheless, PSAP equipment only makes it possible for trained emergency response operators to answer 911 calls and dispatch first responders to a caller in need.

Most PSAP equipment manufactured over the past 10 years allows these operators to accept the 911 voice call during the PSAP equipment bids for the location record in other words associated with the incoming telephone number. This location record is the enhanced part of enhanced 911 – or E911.

If there is no location record associated with the incoming 911 call stored in the local exchange carrier’s PS-ALI database or in an i2-compliant VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) positioning center hosted by a third-party provider, it doesn’t matter whether dispatchers have the most sophisticated PSAP equipment in the world. Their screen will show a blank for the location of the caller.

Many large enterprises and government entities with complex building environments have their own on-site PSAP to take and dispatch 911 calls. Military bases and universities are good examples of organizations with these types of environments.