NENA unveils new NG9-1-1 standard

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) announced this week the organization’s approval of a new version of its Next Generation 9-1-1 standard.

The action would aid the process of accelerating the transition to faster emergency response, detailing NG9-1-1 infrastructure updates that would introduce national and global interoperability.

“This is a landmark moment in the evolution of NG9-1-1,” NENA President Gary Bell said. “The public-safety community and the tech industry now have the most up-to-date, comprehensive, consensus-driven, open standard for NG9-1-1. This will no doubt hasten and strengthen our push to see NG9-1-1 systems, services, and products deployed coast to coast.”

The new version is slated to serve as the base for a broadband-based 9-1-1 ecosystem, featuring new REST/JSON architecture, cybersecurity improvements, call bridging updates, outgoing Call Interface Function, and harmonization with European specifications.

“In the midst of a pandemic that disrupted every facet of our lives, NENA volunteers worked tirelessly to develop and publish i3 Version 3 through the rigorous, consensus-based processes that NENA is known for,” Bell said. “We cannot applaud them enough for their dedication to public safety and NG9-1-1.”

Brian Rosen, co-chair of the i3 Architecture Working Group, said the i3 Version 3 represents the culmination of several years of effort by a large group of experts to produce a complete and interoperable specification implementable by all 9-1-1 authorities and vendors.

“It adds new functionality and updates the specifications for software-application interfaces,” he said, noting i3v3 is the new standard for state and local NG9-1-1 RFPs.