ESIF: Emergency Services Interconnection Forum

Leadership

Chair
Paul McCollum, Comtech

First Vice Chair
Jeff Torres, Verizon Wireless

Second Vice Chair
Brandon Abley, NENA

Industry Advisors
Steve Leese, APCO
Roger Marshall, Comtech
Adam Bensaid, DISH
Darrin Morkunas, Intrado
Mike Hooker, T-Mobile

Contact

ESIF: Emergency Services Interconnection Forum

ESIF develops Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) and location accuracy requirements and solutions and is where the industry comes together in a voluntary open forum to identify and resolve technical and operational issues to facilitate interconnection of emergency services networks with other networks (e.g., wireline, cable, satellite, Internet, etc.). ESIF members comprise industry, government, standards, and public safety organizations.

ATIS ESIF NGESM, in collaboration with NENA, developed guidelines for 9-1-1 Authorities to consider when submitting Valid Requests for NG9-1-1 service under the FCC’s new framework adopted and made effective on November 25, 2024. This document provides a sample letter request for service, timelines for implementation, and a preparation checklist when preparing Valid Requests:

               ATIS-0500048, 9-1-1 Authority Readiness Guidelines for NG9-1-1 Connectivity

Subgroups

IP Multimedia Subsystem for 911

The ESIF IMS911 is a joint effort led by the Next Generation Emergency Services & Messaging (NGESM) subcommittee and coordinated with the Packet Technologies and Systems Committee (PTSC) and the Wireless Technologies and Systems Committee Systems and Network Subcommittee (WTSC SN) to develop standards relating to the application of common IMS (Stage 1, 2, and 3) and Rich Communication Services (RCS) for the processing, transport, and/or delivery of Emergency Service calls with the NG9-1-1 network to the appropriate PSAP.

Co-Chairs
Kelly Springer, AT&T
Brandon Abley, NENA

Next Generation Emergency Services & Messaging (NGESM)

Mission:

The ESIF Next Generation Emergency Services & Messaging (NGESM) Committee develops standards and other documentation related to emergency services (i.e., E9-1-1 and Next Generation 9-1-1). This scope includes architectures, functions, and interfaces for communications networks. It also includes a set of minimum, practical requirements to ensure consistent, valid, verifiable, and reproducible location data in a variety of access environments based on sound engineering and statistical practice. NGESM also coordinates emergency services needs and issues with and among Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and industry forums/committees, within and outside ATIS.  The Committee has an emphasis on standards development as it relates to North American communication networks, taking into consideration alignment with standards developed by other ATIS committees (e.g., PTSC, WTSC) and other organizations such as ITU, 3GPP, ETSI and NENA.

Co-Chairs
Jeanna Green, T-Mobile USA
Vanessa Ventura, Enginuity

Emergency Services & NS/EP NGN-PS Coexistence on LTE RANs (WTSC NSEP)

WTSC NSEP is comprised of members of WTSC RAN, ESIF NGES, and PTSC. The group will develop a joint study on Emergency Services and National Security/Emergency Preparedness Next Generation Network Priority Services (NS/EP NGN-PS) coexistence on LTE Radio Access Networks (RANs). This study will focus on how Emergency Services could potentially starve NS/EP NGN-PS communications during network degradation conditions (e.g., congestion and overload conditions during disaster events) and provide guidance to help mitigate the problem.

Leadership

WTSC RAN Chair and Vice-Chair

IMS Emergency Services Network (IMSESINET)

Joint project led by the WTSC Systems and Networks (SN) subcommittee and coordinated with ESIF’s Next Generation Emergency Services (NGES) subcommittee and the Packet Technologies and Systems Committee (PTSC) for an IMS-based Emergency Services Network. This work is currently focused on creating ATIS standards to eliminate VoLTE Unnecessary Retries to 911 and enhace location-based routing of emergency calls.

Leadership

WTSC SN Chair and Vice Chair