The implementation of E911 services throughout the United States can make a significant impact on the effectiveness of first responders in the event of an emergency. As cell phones continue to be the primary communication tool for individuals and businesses with multiple buildings don’t always assign the right address to the right phone number, E911 can help to eliminate much of the location confusion that can arise in the event of an emergency.

Fairfax County in Virginia recognized the need for E911 when a resident was killed in 2005. The individual had stepped into an elevator, which dropped and trapped her between the elevator and the shaft. The impact killed her. First responders went to two different buildings before they arrived at the right one. Their delay did not contribute to her death, but could have in other situations.

The county wanted to improve response times and information shared with first responders. They also wanted to optimize the total life cycle cost associated with voice services, provide a common voice architecture throughout the county, allow for remote access for voice and data to expand telework, provide compatibility with “best-in-class” citizens access technology, develop a survivable architecture that was both scalable and flexible and prepare for the convergence of voice and data onto one logical network.

The county worked with Avaya and RedSky (News - Alert) to implement the E911 services necessary to improve emergency response. The county selected the RedSky E911 Manager to address the “Enhanced employee Location” requirement in the RFP. The county also currently relies on a single RedSky server, yet has plans to add a backup server at its Continuity of Operations (COOP) failover site.

E911 from RedSky can provide benefit to an entire community as its technology complies with state legislation, the Safe Labor Act and Core Statement, and when integrated with Avaya (News - Alert) solutions, demands less manual administration.

The enterprise seeking to implement E911 will face specific challenges, including maintaining database integrity, an increasing number of IP end points, the testing and evaluating of RedSky E911 solutions with SIP trunking, SIP endpoints and voice over WiFi. The organization will also have to evaluate the potential integration between RedSky and Nortel (News - Alert) platforms, as well as developing an E911 policy for mobile workers.

E911 solutions, such as those offered by RedSky, can now connect a 9-1-1 call to any PSAP in the U.S. As a hosted service, E911 is emerging as the solution for distributed enterprises seeking to adopt a datacenter approach for IP telephony.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.