NC’s 911 service gets upgrade thanks to $3.9M federal grant

RALEIGH – The state’s emergency 911 service is getting a systems boost thanks to a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Transportation

Among the upgrades: migrating to an internet protocol-enabled emergency network, and training 911 staff and first responders in this new technology.

In November, Durham County’s call center became the first in the nation to upgrade. By the end of this year, 40 additional call centers will have transitioned to the new technology.

“Our 911 staff wants to be more accessible to the public, resolve emergencies faster and, as a result, resolve more of them,” Pokey Harris, executive director of the N.C. 911 Board, said in a statement. “If calls are received, managed and dispatched faster, call centers can serve more people.”

Last year, more than 75 percent of 911 calls in North Carolina were from wireless devices, according to the N.C. 911 Board.

“More and more, residents are relying on text messaging, email and other online ways to connect and giving up landlines altogether,” N.C. Department of Information Technology Secretary and State CIO Eric Boyette said in a statement.

North Carolina is one of 34 states and two tribal nations receiving grants totaling $109 million.