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| 9-1-1 Technical Standards Development
NENA is the premiere public safety industry organization for defining 9-1-1 technical issues and recommending solutions for technology service providers, equipment manufacturers and industry-related standard setting bodies. NENA has established itself as an industry leader in recommending technical solutions through its Technical Committees. (Technical Committee Structure Chart [Adobe PDF; Instructions]) These standards enable compatibility of 9-1-1 technologies, minimize costs involved in provisioning and maintaining public safety communications, increase the effectiveness of 9-1-1 call handling and emergency response, and promote teamwork among industry providers of public safety products and services. NENA has established this process for defining and solving complex technology issues related to the provision of emergency services. Such technology is inclusive of the hardware, software, private and public safety networks, data and Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) apparatus used for emergency communications. The roles and responsibilities of individuals and committees involved in the development, review and approval process for creation of the standards are well defined in NENA Standard 01-001. At a minimum, each NENA Recommendation for a Standard offered by the Technical Committees must contain a subsection addressing the purpose, reason to implement, acronyms/abbreviations used, benefits, and when to implement. Approved NENA recommended standards are re-evaluated each year by the authoring Technical Committee to ensure they are still applicable.
Committee Structure and Appointments
The NENA Technical Committees include industry experts from both the public and private sectors. Each year, the incumbent NENA president consults with the NENA executive director and the NENA technical issues director, and nominates a technical liaison subject to approval by the NENA Executive Board. The NENA technical issues director appoints committee members to serve on the NENA Technical Advisory Board. The Technical Advisory Board consists of both industry and jurisdictional NENA members who have a keen overall knowledge of industry trends and public safety needs. The NENA technical liaison appoints technical committee chairpersons to focus on select segments of the public safety industry. Current knowledge requirements and technology complexities have resulted in the establishment of the following Committees: Network, Data, PSAP/Customer Premise Equipment, and ALEC/Private Switch.
Each technical committee chair selects subject matter experts from the NENA membership to serve on the appropriate problem-solving team. They may also create special study groups to focus on unique issues that may have a significant technological impact on emergency communications services. Although each member of a Technical Committee must be a NENA member, it is recognized that study groups may need to include individuals who have specialized technological expertise and only limited public safety involvement. In such instances, NENA membership is not necessary.
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