Leading 9-1-1 industry providers, Airbus DS Communications, Inc. and West Corporation, have joined forces to make it easier for public safety agencies to implement the infrastructure necessary to accept text messages from cellular devices within 9-1-1 call centers.
Before this collaboration was initiated, a majority of public safety answering points (PSAPs) had to go through various separate entities in order to coordinate all the components required for the text-to-911 capabilities.
Now, customers who want the Airbus DS Communications VESTA SMS application and the West TCC (Text Control Center) TXT2-9-1-1 service can make one call to either company to link PSAPs to a tailor-built website where all information is gathered and then sent to appropriate contacts to both companies, simplifying the process for PSAPs.
“Text-to-9-1-1 is too important for us to not to take every step possible to streamline its adoption across the country,” said Bob Freinberg, CEO of Airbus DS Communications. “Establishing text-to-9-1-1 and other Next Generation 9-1-1 capabilities can be seen as daunting and with PSAPs facing more demands today than ever before. Airbus DS Communications and West decided that working together to help shoulder this demand is in the best interest of PSAPs and the communities they serve.”
The collaboration also sidesteps a common issue faced by PSAPs. When coordinated independently, the pieces necessary for text-to-9-1-1 often were obtained one at a time or out of sync, delaying the roll out of text-to-9-1-1 service to the public.
“We are excited to collaborate with Airbus DS Communications to more efficiently deliver text messaging service for citizens in need of 9-1-1 help,” said Steve Lowe, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Government Solutions in West’s Safety Services Division. “Together, we can provide even more PSAPs the ability to accept and dispatch emergency text messages from those who may not be able to safely make a voice call."
