CRTC allows for use of hosted call handling solutions sites in the NG911 networks

The CRTC determined that 911 governing authorities can designate demarcation points at hosted call handling solutions (CHS) sites in the NG911 networks, subject to certain conditions in order to protect law enforcement from being surveilled by third parties, according to its decision released Monday. In 2017 the commission determined that incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) would be responsible for building, operating, and maintaining the NG911 networks, the costs of which would form the basis of the NG911 tariffs. Last year, New Brunswick’s NG911 bureau, as part of its Department of Justice and Public Safety, first filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC requesting clarification on whether or not ILECs delivering NG911 services in New Brunswick may connect those networks to demarcation points determined by relevant 911 Governing Authorities that may not be located at Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). It said it intended to adopt a hosted model for CHS for its PSAPs, which would require NG911 traffic to be delivered to two data centres where the CHS would be housed, as opposed to delivering NG911 traffic directly to its eight provincial PSAPs. BCE Inc., which would be the company responsible for NG911 in the province, filed an intervention arguing the proposal is a “fundamental change” to the NG911 framework set by the CRTC — though technically feasible — “which is being introduced at such a late hour that it threatens to undermine the launch date.” “Further, the proposal contemplates a solution that is problematic and has been rejected by the commission because the commission decided that the NG911 provider should have complete control of the NG911,” Bell wrote in its July 2021 intervention. The New Brunswick RCMP submitted that introducing third-party connectivity between the networks and PSAPs would add additional points of failure and enable third parties to monitor police or law enforcement communications. The CRTC found that there would be potential benefits would arise from New Brunswick’s NG911 bureau’s proposal such as providing “another service delivery model that could streamline the PSAPs’ onboarding and timely transition to NG911 by shifting certain logistical and procurement-related burdens from PSAPs to the entities selected to provide NG911 hosted CHS. The commission also noted it would reduce the technical burden on PSAPs, since the technical expertise necessary to manage and maintain the CHS, including lifecycle management would be included as part of the service agreement with the hosted CHS provider; reduce the number of CHS required, since a single hosted CHS site services multiple PSAPs; and reduce the overall number of physical interconnections, which would increase the cost effectiveness of operating the NG911 networks and reduce tariffs. The commission set out a list of conditions, and interconnection specifications, to be imposed on non-PSAP demarcation points interconnecting with the NG911 networks to deal with security and potential network failure concerns. The CRTC also determined that it would be too premature to address the interactions between the NG911 network, hosted CHS, and the new three-digit code for mental health crises and suicide prevention services. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca.

CRTC allows for use of hosted call handling solutions sites in the NG911 networks

News | October 17, 2022

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CRTC allows for use of hosted call handling solutions sites in the NG911 networks

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