6/13/2017
By Ivan Pereira
New York City’s 911 system may soon receive major tech upgrades, as the city actively pursues vendors to help update the system.
The city will implement a text-to-911 process in the first quarter of 2018 as part of an upgrade announced Tuesday by the city’s Department of Information, Technology and Telecommunications.
The new method would also include location verification, that the city hopes will improve communication between the public and first responders, according to DoITT Commissioner Anne Roest.
The agency seeks vendors who can develop and maintain a custom system, dubbed NextGeneration 911, that could give users the ability to transmit video, photo and other media to 911 operators during an emergency.
“Ultimately, our system will do more than give New Yorkers new ways to communicate — it will make it easier for the City to continually upgrade and improve 911 as technology evolves in the coming years,” Roest said in a statement.
The city aims to implement NextGeneration 911 in 2022.
Interested vendors can log onto nyc.gov/doitt for more information on the RFP. Applications are due by August 8.
