Installed in 2007, Manatee County’s latest 9-1-1 system is already considered “obsolete” and public safety officials are anxious to replace it with the latest Next-Generation 9-1-1 technology.

During a meeting of county and municipal officials, Paul Alexander of the county’s information technology department explained that their cooperation is needed for upgrades to the countywide 9-1-1 system so dispatchers not only receive phone calls – as they have done for 40 years – but emails, text messages and videos.

And first responders heading to an emergency could receive that information from the dispatchers, enabling them to get even more critical information before they arrive.

“First and foremost, it’s about improving public safety,” Alexander said.

Eventually, the upgrades are likely to be required by the state anyway, Alexander said.

Currently, 9-1-1 calls are transferred from Verizon in Tampa to the county’s “primary public safety answering point” (PSAP) at the Public Safety Complex in Samoset. Depending on the origin of the calls, some are transferred to “secondary public safety answering points” at Bradenton, Palmetto and Longboat Key police stations. Verizon sends 9-1-1 calls for Holmes Beach Police to that “remote” PSAP without going through the county’s primary PSAP.

Alexander compared the current “telephone switch” system to being on a train track that cannot change its route.

A new Internet Protocol system on fiber optic networks could provide an “infinite number of routes” for placing and receiving emergency calls and could even let another jurisdiction other than Manatee take over if necessary, Alexander said.

According to the county, a Next Generation 9-1-1 system could cost up to $1.18 million in capital expenses and up to $2 million in operating expenses over five years–depending on whether all 9-1-1 calls are handled by the county.