Congress supports public safety workers' efforts to save lives and get up to speed with life saving technology

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 8, 2012 -- Citizens who call 9-1-1 expect prompt assistance. Most get it, but for those unable to talk during an emergency call – either to preserve their own safety or because they've become unconscious or are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired – may find help harder to get. That's because the technology powering many 9-1-1 centers across the country is sorely outdated.

Congress took a big step earlier this month towards changing that and ensuring the most reliable, up-to-date emergency technology is made available to all 9-1-1 centers nationwide.

On Dec. 1, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology adopted an amendment to H.R. 2629 – also known as the Next Generation 9-1-1 Advancement Act – aimed at upgrading 9-1-1 capabilities and authorizing up to $250 million over five years for new technology, services and training related to NG9-1-1.

Next Generation 9-1-1 (or NG9-1-1) refers to the planned enhancement of 9-1-1 services nationwide to allow public safety answering points to receive text messages, pictures, video and even data-only "calls" from smoke alarms, telematics or personal medical devices. NG9-1-1 also requires a single, unambiguous, site-specific address to be matched to every 9-1-1 call – including those coming from apartment complexes, office buildings and mobile home parks. Under current 9-1-1 practices, address ranges or a single address point for a multi-unit structure is all that is typically used, yet that can significantly slow response time. Assigning individual addresses for each unit within a building will result in more precise emergency routing and greatly improve the ability of first responders to locate callers – or devices that generate 9-1-1 calls – in multi-unit structures.

"Outdated technology costs lives," said Ron Cramer, president of Columbus-based Digital Data Technologies, Inc., whose company is a leading NG9-1-1-solutions provider. "I applaud Congress for taking up this important issue and for working to ensure life-saving technology is affordable and available to all."

The amendment, offered by Representatives John Shimkus (R-IL) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), is expected to go before both houses of Congress for a vote in early 2012.

To find out more about how to apply for grants go to www.ddti.net/NG911funding.

Digital Data Technologies, Inc. (DDTI), based in Columbus, Ohio, is the world leader in creating field-verified GIS addressing data that is accurate to within +/- one meter. DDTI's suite of NG9-1-1 solutions was tested at the National Emergency Numbering Association (NENA)'s Industry Collaboration Events, ICE 3 and ICE 4. DDTI was also the provider of choice for the pilot phase of Ohio's statewide initiative to build a unified set of highly accurate map data able to meet the vastly different needs of state, county and municipal governments. DDTI's suite of AccuGlobe® products includes: 9-1-1 Map Data for enhanced public safety, 9-1-1 Dispatch for locating emergency calls, Mobile Data Computer Software for optimized routing to emergency locations, Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Software for tracking the whereabouts of emergency units, and GIS Data Maintenance for streamlined updating, merging and sharing of new map and address data. For more information about DDTI and its products, visit www.ddti.net.