The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) hosted its third Industry Collaboration Event (ICE-3) recently in College Station, Texas, which focused on how location information is one of the most critical data elements in the operation of next generation 9-1-1 for call routing. Thirteen companies including CommScope’s Andrew Solutions tested and explored the specifications required for multi-vendor interactions in emergency call routing functions, emergency services routing proxies and location information servers (LIS).
Andrew Solutions has been helping define the LIS—and protocols for other network elements to communicate with the LIS—since its inception. We have been very active in the NENA ICE events, chairing the planning committee at this recent event, and as I reported earlier, helping define the new IETF protocol.
The LIS provides the location of emergency callers in NG9-1-1 networks. The location information is used to route the emergency call to the correct nodes within the NG9-1-1 network and provide emergency responders with the location of the person in need of assistance. The LIS is a critical component of the NG9-1-1 call infrastructure, for without it, the call destination cannot be determined and responders would not know where to go.
For those of you interested in the progress made at ICE-3, you can access a summary report and test results on the NENA website. Andrew offers an LIS product as part of our GeoLENs location solution. The LIS doesn’t just provide value for NG9-1-1, however. An IP network that is location-enabled with an LIS can support a wide range of Internet services, most especially fulfilling a role of trusted broker of location information for third parties.
For more information, feel free to leave me a comment here, or check our website.
