May 19, 2010, Washington, DC – The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) today announced that its Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF) has developed a Request for Assistance Interface (RFAI) standard. This standard will enable the expansion of E911 services and their functionality within the Emergency Services Next-Generation Network.

The RFAI supports the transition from today’s legacy systems into IP-based networks, and may be used by Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) CPE vendors and network equipment providers. It is of particular interest to those whom are implementing IP-based solutions as part of the evolution to Next-Generation 911 emergency services (NG911).

Materially, the RFAI is a session initiation protocol which replaces the legacy trunks between the E911 router and an IP-based 911 PSAP. The RFAI standard is designed to operate in today’s telecommunications networks, while simultaneously allowing for the evolution towards tomorrow’s next generation technology.

“The RFAI standard’s real benefit is that it enables the delivery of advanced 911 voice and data services – thereby creating a more robust emergency network – which can meet public safety’s needs both today and in the future,” said Susan Miller, ATIS’ President & CEO.

“The ability to receive emergency voice calls over IP is a necessary part of migrating to Next Generation 911,” said Stephen Meer, Intrado CTO. “As an active ESIF participant, Intrado wholeheartedly supports the efforts of ATIS to create standards based interfaces that facilitate the ubiquitous deployment of Next-Generation 911 systems.”

“The release of the RFAI standard is a significant step forward in transitioning our nation's PSAPs to IP-based networks -- networks that will better serve the public and will allow public safety to keep pace with the advances in telecommunication services," said Brian Fontes, CEO of the National Emergency Numbering Association (NENA), "I look forward to the standard’s successful testing at NENA’s upcoming Industry Collaboration Event.”

The new RFAI standard will undergo interoperability testing at the 2010 National Emergency Number Association Industry Collaboration Event scheduled for late May.

About the Emergency Services Interconnection Forum
ESIF provides a venue to facilitate the identification and resolution of technical and/or operational issues related to the interconnection of emergency services networks with other networks (e.g., wireline, cable, satellite, Internet, etc.). ESIF develops standards and other documentation for the interconnection of emergency services networks, and discussion is focused on the application of current and emerging technologies to maintain and support the interconnection of emergency services networks.

About ATIS
ATIS is the leading technical planning and standards development organization committed to the rapid development of global, market-driven standards for the information, entertainment and communications industry. More than 250 companies actively formulate standards in ATIS’ 18 Committees, covering issues including: IPTV, Service Oriented Networks, Energy Efficiency, IP-Based and Wireless Technologies, Quality of Service, Billing and Operational Support. In addition, numerous Incubators, Focus and Exploratory Groups address emerging industry priorities including “Green”, IP Downloadable Security, Next Generation Carrier Interconnect, IPv6 and Convergence.

ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a member and major U.S. contributor to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio and Telecommunications’ Sectors, and a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information, please visit www.atis.org.