Connecting a Network of Networks
As the public safety industry moves toward new technology, states, regions, and local jurisdictions need to adapt to the changing landscape, keep up with the demand for new ways to communicate, and replace legacy call routing tools with Next Generation 9‑1‑1 (NG9‑1‑1) equipment. The Comtech Next Generation Core Services (NGCS) solution offers an Emergency Services Internet Protocol network (ESInet) and seamlessly connects originating service providers with public safety answering points (PSAPs).
Product Details
Our market-leading NGCS configuration is modular, scalable, and has been implemented at state, regional, and county levels. NGCS offers a transitional replacement solution for legacy selective-router-based 9‑1‑1 networks. This NENA i3-aligned solution enables end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) call routing to the PSAP, providing Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)-to-Internet Protocol (IP) call conversion and location-based routing. Supporting IP connectivity means Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) for text and other media types, and it also enables PSAPs to receive multimedia messages—text, video, and voice calls—when the technology and time is right for each individual PSAP.
The Comtech NGCS is highly reliable, resilient, and redundant. Our solution is composed of redundant central system components that provide load sharing and load balancing with failover capability. With locally and geographically redundant architecture, the system operates as a single entity, even under the most catastrophic conditions, and its design provides a seamless transition in call-processing capacity from platform to platform and site to site, ensuring high availability and continued emergency call processing.
We offer multiple deployment options for NGCS:
- Software as a Service (SaaS) / Hosted – Engineered for use with widely available hardware and with the greatest capacity for expansion, the NGCS service is operated on equipment owned and maintained by our public safety team at Comtech’s fully redundant, geodiverse data centers. This model is ideal for public safety entities desiring a speedy deployment and a lower capital expenditure.
- In-Network / Managed Service – Entirely resident within your region, the NGCS hardware is maintained by the customer and installed in fully redundant, geodiverse locations. Comtech provides a managed service to operate the NGCS software. This model is ideal for public safety entities desiring a lower operational expenditure and/or a dedicated system.
- Hybrid – A combination of the hosted and in-network models, the NGCS is modular, flexible, and can be configured to meet the customer’s needs.
Industry Compliance
- National Emergency Number Association (NENA): NENA i3
- Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS): J‑STD‑110, IMSESINET, NGES, IMS911, ELOC, ESIF
- Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): SIPCORE, ECRIT, SIPREC, GEOPRIV
Features & Benefits
| Key Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Active-Active Design | Offers the highest availability, with no manual interaction required. |
| Quad-Redundant Processing | Both geographic and local redundancy in the software, increasing availability. |
| Geographic Redundancy | Always deployed in a geographically redundant manner, increasing availability. |
| Call Handling Equipment Interoperability | Successfully tested with the most popular customer premises equipment (CPE) applications. |
| End-to-End Functionality | Supports true end-to-end functionality, taking 9‑1‑1 traffic all the way from the carrier circuits (aggregation services) to the PSAP demarcations. |
| MSRP Text to 9‑1‑1 Support | Enables native MSRP Text to 9‑1‑1. |
| Multiple Deployment Models | Can be deployed in a dedicated in-market solution, as a Comtech-hosted service, or in a hybrid configuration. |
| Proven NENA i3 Flexibility | Successfully deployed using other NENA i3-compliant components within the solution. |
| Flexible Routing Changes | Allows for flexible updates to routing rules. |