ITM students Michal Siuty and Kbrom Tewoldu work with Mentor Joe Cusimano, NENA ICE-5 participants and representatives as they test the 911 emergency service.

More than 50 vendors and National Emergency Number Association (NENA) representatives gathered to test the interoperability of products supporting an all-IP backbone for the delivery of emergency 9-1-1 services, and in particular support their use by the hearing impaired community, at an event at the IIT Real-Time Communications Lab at Rice Campus.  Information Technology and Management Industry Professor Carol Davids, NENA representatives and NENA ICE-5 participants demonstrated how the Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet) supports voice and video calls and text messages to Pubic Service Access Point (PSAP) call takers.

NENA serves the public safety community as the only professional organization solely focused on 9-1-1 policy, technology, operations, and education issues. With more than 7,000 members in 48 chapters across North America and around the globe, NENA promotes the implementation and awareness of 9-1-1 and international three-digit emergency communications systems.

NENA works with public policy leaders; emergency services and telecommunications industry partners; like-minded public safety associations; and other stakeholder groups to develop and carry out critical programs and initiatives; to facilitate the creation of an IP-based Next Generation

Hearing-impaired callers and American Sign Language interpreters use the video capabilities of the system as well as the text function to complete an emergency call.

9-1-1 system; and to establish industry leading standards, training, and certifications.