Delaware Launches Upgrades to Enhanced 911 Service

Delaware is launching video upgrades to the enhanced 911 service. Governor Matthew Meyer joined Secretary Joshua Bushweller, State 911 Administrator Robert Williams, and Dover Emergency Communications Manager Matthew Carey on Thursday to demonstrate the new upgrades to the enhanced 911 service at the Dover Police Department Communications Center – one of the first in the country to launch the new features which include streaming video and language text translation. This will give 911 operators the ability to get a firsthand look at an emergency for a better sense of patient status, size of a fire, number of vehicles in a crash and other details about an incident. This information can then be relayed to first responders in real time as they respond to an emergency. 

Officials plan for the upgrade to be in all Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) by 2026.

Additional information from the DE Safety & Homeland Security release: 

Governor Meyer said, “We must save lives and protect public safety when seconds count. Delawareans deserve the latest and best technology, and these innovations will save lives.”

“This project is the result of much hard work on the part of our E 911 Board members, our PSAP managers and their staff, and our State 911 Administrator who oversaw its completion,” said DSHS Secretary Bushweller. “The State Enhanced 911 Board provided funding for the necessary equipment and software upgrades to support these new multimedia capabilities, in cooperation with our vendor Intrado.” (DRAFT)

“This new feature is part of the NextGen project funded by the State’s E911 Board.  NextGen, short for “next generation,” is an ongoing initiative to provide our 911 centers statewide with upgraded equipment and operating system software to keep pace with changing technology,” said State 911 Administrator Robert Williams. “Our E911 Board remains committed to making certain our 911 system continues to evolve as our citizens’ communications preferences and needs change.” (DRAFT)

In addition to Delaware State Police communication centers in each county, there are eight PSAP’s in Delaware.

“We are honored to provide our proven multimedia and text translation technology to enhance public safety operations throughout Delaware,” said John Snapp, VP of Technology at Intrado. “This implementation empowers first responders and 911 operators with industry-leading solutions, strengthening protection for all residents and businesses while driving agile emergency response coordination and improved outcomes.”