LONGMONT, Colo.— Intrado Inc., a subsidiary of West Corporation and a leading provider of 9-1-1 technology solutions, welcomes the recent action by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Standards (ATIS) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) to implement standards for the use of SMS for text messaging to 9-1-1.

Pioneering work by Intrado in text-to-9-1-1 and lessons learned from nearly four years of production deployment experience were instrumental in the development of this standard.

“Standards development is a key step in the introduction and widespread adoption of any new technology,” said Dami Hummel, vice president and general manager, Intrado. “We applaud this development and are happy to have made a significant contribution to the further adoption of this life-saving technology.”

“Industry support is the next step,” added Hummel. “In addition to Intrado and the major wireless carriers, we’ve seen other text-to-9-1-1 solution vendors announce their support for J-STD-110. That’s good news for anyone who is unable to safely make a voice call to 9-1-1 and who needs an alternative way to reach out for emergency assistance.”

Intrado deployed the first production TXT29-1-1 service in 2009, and currently operates emergency text systems in Iowa, Vermont and North Carolina.

Wireless carriers or public safety agencies interested in learning more about Intrado’s TXT29-1-1 solutions should contact Intrado at [email protected] or 1.866.827.1688.