4G Americas Endorses ATIS and TIA
SMS to 9-1-1 Emergency
Communications Implementation
Guidelines
BELLEVUE, Wash. – 4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of technologies, including LTE, today announced their endorsement of the Implementation Guidelines for J-STD-110, a detailed document authored by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) in collaboration with the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
The Implementation Guidelines define the requirements and architecture for text messaging to 9-1-1 emergency services using native wireless operator Short Message Service (SMS) capabilities for the existing generation and next generation (NG9-1-1) Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). These implementation recommendations are applicable to wireless operators, SMS vendors, public safety, emergency services vendors and PSAP vendors. J-STD-110 was adopted as an industry standard in March of 2013 and updated in Supplement A in November 2013. The main purpose of Implementation Guidelines for J-STD-110 is to address Commercial Mobile Service Providers (CMSP) and Text Control Center (TCC) providers regarding deployment considerations for the Joint ATIS/TIA Native SMS to 9-1-1 Requirements and Architecture Specification (J-STD-110) with the associated Supplement A.
Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas stated, “The wireless industry has worked collaboratively for years to make text-to-9-1-1 communications a reality. The ATIS and TIA guidelines are an example of this continuing effort among all key stakeholders.”
The Implementation Guidelines help put the J-STD-110 standard into action allowing a text-to-9-1-1 solution to be broadly implemented across the United States. ATIS has also developed an efficient checklist that gives Public Safety entities a systematic way of identifying the tasks to enable coordinated communications with the other parties in the emergency response chain. J-STD-110 supports the voluntary framework for an interim text-to-9-1-1 solution, including coarse location to route the text to the appropriate PSAP, the ability to send a text to the short code “911” and delivery of a message advising the caller to dial 9-1-1 when texting to 9-1-1 is not available. This interim solution will be implemented while the long-term Next Generation 9-1-1 solution is being developed in ATIS and 3GPP for Multimedia Messaging Emergency Services in the next technology generation.
“The new Guidelines demonstrate how a diverse group of companies from throughout the ICT ecosystem came together to develop a solution to address growing consumer demand for text-to-9-1-1 capabilities,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. “They set into motion an end-to-end solution that advances emergency communications – and will help save lives nationwide.”
In the age of new and innovative ways of communicating using mobile devices, a text to 9-1-1 solution is becoming a viable alternative option for people to use in certain life-threatening scenarios. Examples of various situations that may require a text-to-9-1-1 rather than a voice call include: for those who are deaf, non-verbal or hard of hearing or in instances where a caller would not want to be heard asking for emergency assistance. In December 2012, AT&T and T-Mobile, along with two other service providers, joined forces with the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officers (APCO) and voluntarily committed to provide text-to-9-1-1 services by May 15, 2014.
4G Americas, a Market Representation Partner of 3GPP, has been at the forefront of this text-to-9-1-1 opportunity for many years, addressing both the issues and the opportunities of this new emergency communications option. In addition to several white papers published over the past 10 years and public webinars, the association supports the important work of ATIS and TIA on SMS-to-9-1-1 standards.
A summary of the Implementation Guidelines for J-STD-110, written by 4G Americas, is available for free download at: www.4gamericas.org.
About 4G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Mobile Broadband Technology
4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization’s mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas. 4G Americas contributes to the successful commercial rollout of 3GPP mobile broadband technologies across the Americas and their place as the No. 1 technology family in the region. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org.
4G Americas’ Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, BlackBerry, Cable & Wireless, Cisco, CommScope, Entel, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Mavenir, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Openwave Mobility, Qualcomm, Rogers, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.
