11/20/2012 ( 8:24am)
NICE Systems (NICE) announced it participated in the National Emergency Number Association's (NENA's) ICE 5 Industry Collaboration Event, a forum that promotes progress towards Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1). During ICE 5, NICE was able to demonstrate its ability to record video calls, real-time text messages, and voice calls in various test scenarios using the standard interfaces defined by NENA. These are essential future NG 9-1-1 capabilities for PSAPs.
People with speech and hearing disabilities will gain better access to emergency services as a result of this Industry Collaboration Event hosted by NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. The event brought together twenty-two leading public safety and technology companies with deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech disability technologies to test products designed to improve access to 9-1-1 for those communities, as well as enhance the ability of 9-1-1 centers to receive and share data-rich communications with the public and emergency responders.
This 5th Industry Collaboration Event, or "ICE 5," resulted in heightened awareness of the requirements necessary for access to 9-1-1 by all persons in the Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) environment. NG9-1-1, which will soon replace today's voice-centric 9-1-1 system, is designed to support text messaging and multimedia communications; these widely-used communications methods are especially critical for improving interactions between those with hearing- and speech-related disabilities and 9-1-1 call takers.
ICE 5 participants determined that end-to-end testing of the "call chain" is essential to ensuring that new and emerging technologies can provide the necessary reliability, stability, compatibility, and call quality over all media types, leading to significantly improved access to emergency services for all people, including individuals with disabilities.
"The real promise of NG9-1-1 is the system's capability to provide truly equal access to 9-1-1 for all people, irrespective of one's primary means of communication," said NENA President Barbara Jaeger, ENP. "It is therefore essential that all new technologies seamlessly and intuitively interface with each other, requiring a thorough and rigorous testing process. Through the ICE initiative, NENA is proud to provide a space for all relevant players to come together in an open, collaborative atmosphere to test the products and services that will ultimately enable Next Generation 9-1-1 and improve emergency responses for all citizens in need.
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