911 Consolidation

Network consolidation and centralization of networks is putting our broadband and voice networks in increased jeopardy. It’s easy to understand why carriers are in favor of the savings that come from consolidation, but it’s vital that we recognize and acknowledge the increased risk that comes as a consequence of choosing efficiency over other factors. One area of particular concern is 911 network consolidation. Carriers have very quietly rearranged the 911 network configuration in the country in a way that puts 911 callers in jeopardy. Historically, 911 was the ultimate local network arrangement. Each city or county had at least one 911 call center. Over time, 911 call centers were consolidated regionally. It’s now fairly routine when a customer calls 911 that the call is routed to a 911 tandem that is many states away before ultimately being routed back to the appropriate local 911 center. In the network world, greater distance means greater risk. A network outage in a distant city can stop or block a local call to 911. There is no doubt that the current 911 configuration is more efficient. But I suspect the government folks in charge of 911 centers and public safety have little idea about the great distances covered by a routine 911 call. There would be a big improvement in 911 safety if the 911 tandems and databases were closer to customers, like the historical 911 networks.