St. Cloud, MN, Mar.3, 2015 — GeoComm is pleased to announce they have recently completed several portions of a Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) project for the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD). This project lays the groundwork for developing a statewide NG9-1-1 GIS dataset.
Late in 2013, the HSEMD initiated the planning process for a future migration to a NG9-1-1 system and was seeking information on determining the GIS data requirements needed. HSEMD selected GeoComm to assist in determining the GIS data requirements needed in Iowa’s future NG9-1-1 system. GeoComm completed the following items for the project:
In addition, GeoComm worked with each of the 99 counties in Iowa to assess their existing GIS data, determining if it could be used in an NG9-1-1 system and will meet the minimum accuracy requirements. Once the initial GIS data review was complete, GeoComm recommended ways to fix any issues with the existing GIS data and ways to maintain the future NG9-1-1 GIS dataset.
“GeoComm has demonstrated a great level of expertise in NG9-1-1 GIS standards throughout this project. The communication from the project team has been consistent and frequent; their plan was very effective in rolling out the new standards to the counties throughout the state. As a result of this project our GIS data will be adequately prepared for an NG9-1-1 environment,” Blake DeRouchey, Iowa E9-1-1 Program Manager.
“Accurate and up-to-date GIS map data is imperative in mission-critical emergency response systems. GeoComm is happy to have partnered with HSEMD for this NG9-1-1 GIS assessment project as they set the NG9-1-1 foundation for call routing, call handling, call delivery, location validation and emergency response” commented John Bryant, GeoComm’s President and CEO.
The project was completed in February 2015.
About GeoComm:
GeoComm (www.geo-comm.com) was founded in 1995 to provide county governments with turnkey emergency 9-1-1 development services. Over the subsequent 19 years, the company has grown to serve more than 12,000 dispatchers in 750 emergency 9-1-1 call centers in the United States, helping to keep more than 84 million people safe. Today, GeoComm has a national reputation as a leading provider of geographic information and communication systems. The company’s systems route emergency calls to the appropriate call center, display caller locations on 9-1-1 call takers answering positions, and guide emergency responders to emergency incidents.