As most of you are probably aware by now, the Board voted to approve Call Handling as a Service (CHaaS), or ‘Hosted Controller’ project.  This will be a huge benefit to most of the districts throughout the state.  The details and procedures are being finalized.  In the interim, the signup procedures are simple:  e-mail me with your PSAPs information and the number of seats that you are requesting, and include the number of Administrative Lines, if you prefer to have them included on your console.  This information will be forwarded on to the AT&T project team and you will be contacted soon. 

The transition to Stage 3 of the Next Generation project in the Jackson Selective Router area is continuing.  There were some issues between the “Administrative ALI” and the “Production ALI”, but those are being worked and we should be on schedule.  The team from Comtech, including Anthony “Moe” Mobley and Lisa Dubuque, will be in Tennessee the week of May 15th.  You will receive a schedule separately.  We are looking forward to being in the Jackson area soon. 

There was a recent issue where the question was raised, “when should we (local PSAP) contact the NOC instead of our vendor?”  This is a very good point and I offer this:  the TECB’s goal is to have the NOC be a tool in your toolbox that will aid in your operations, not hinder you from making decisions or taking appropriate corrective action.   If you have a maintenance contract, and you determine a problem to be with your equipment locally, you may prefer to call your vendor first.

In some instances, the local on-duty personnel were unable to determine if a problem was related to local equipment or the outside network.  In those situations, it was beneficial for the NOC to be contacted, who then contacts the network providers and vendors.  Another advantage of contacting the NOC is that a ticket will be created so notifications will be made and we have a method of tracking and following up. This also gives us a tool to track trends and report on the health of the network as a whole.  Overall, use the tools in the manner that best benefits your operations. Our only request is that, if you do not contact the NOC first (or at all), that you follow up with an e-mail so that we are made aware of the situation.  Also, please keep in mind that a problem that begins to expand into multiple jurisdictions or districts could indicate a larger issue that needs immediate attention.  The NOC is able to make us aware of those types of incidents. 

Tennessee is a leader in Next Generation 911 only because of the cooperation and assistance from everyone in the districts, our partner vendors and network providers.  Please let me know of any problems that arise so they may be addressed quickly.  

-Eddie Burchell Chief of Technology