The Future of NG9-1-1 Depends on GIS Data That Is Ready for Mission-Critical Operations
NG9-1-1 is often described as a technology transition.
Networks are evolving. Systems are being modernized. Agencies are preparing for new ways to route, receive, and manage emergency calls. But beneath that transition is a foundational requirement that cannot be overlooked.
GIS data readiness.
NG9-1-1 depends on accurate, maintained, standards-aligned GIS data. Location information plays a critical role in call routing, location validation, and emergency response mapping workflows. As agencies move further into NG9-1-1 implementation, GIS is no longer just supporting the system from the background. It is becoming part of the operational foundation.
That changes the standard.
In legacy environments, GIS data may have been treated as a technical resource or a periodic maintenance responsibility. In an NG9-1-1 environment, that same data directly affects how live 9-1-1 calls are routed in real time, how locations are validated, and what maps are displayed for call takers, dispatchers, emergency responders, and incident command. GIS data quality, governance, maintenance, and interoperability all become more important.
The question is not simply whether GIS data exists.
The question is whether it is ready for operational use.
Is the data accurate? Is it current? Is it aligned with the required standards? Is it maintained through repeatable processes? Is it secure and highly available? Is it supported 24x7x365? Are GIS, 9-1-1, addressing, dispatch, responder, and local government teams coordinating effectively? Can the GIS data support both today’s response needs and tomorrow’s technology environment?
These questions matter because NG9-1-1 is not only about improving call delivery. It is also about creating a stronger foundation for more connected emergency response. As public safety systems become more integrated, the quality of the location data underpinning them will shape what agencies can do next.
Accurate GIS data can support better call routing. Up-to-date maps can reduce uncertainty. Standards-aligned data can improve consistency across jurisdictions and systems. Interoperable data can help information move more effectively between 9-1-1, CAD, emergency responders, incident command, and other public safety and security software platforms.
But when GIS data is incomplete, outdated, or inconsistently maintained, NG9-1-1 readiness can suffer.
That is why GIS data should be viewed as a strategic part of NG9-1-1 planning, not just a technical workstream. Agencies need the people, processes, governance, and partnerships required to keep GIS data reliable over time. A successful transition is not only about reaching implementation. It's not a one-time event. It's an ongoing, continual process. It is about sustaining readiness after implementation.
The future of NG9-1-1 will depend on more than network modernization.
It will depend on location data that is trusted, maintained, and ready to support emergency response when seconds matter.
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Technical Signals
Esri published a developer guide on applying three ArcGIS Location Services to wildfire and rescue work. The ArcGIS Elevation service returns terrain height for single or multiple points and along routes, which supports retardant flight path planning and gives dispatchers slope and floor context for callers in hillside communities. The ArcGIS Places service surfaces schools, hospitals, and shelters near a fire perimeter, and the ArcGIS GeoEnrichment service adds demographic attributes such as assisted living facilities and household vehicle ownership within a set radius.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is using machine learning from Ecopia AI with Esri GIS to map buildings, roads, defensible space, and evacuation routes across its 31-million-acre service area. Ecopia extracted the full dataset in about four weeks and now delivers annual change detection that classifies each building footprint as new, removed, or modified, enabling the agency to track post-fire rebuilding.
West Virginia University engineers published a framework called WildFIRE-DS that enables Earth observation satellites to detect wildfires using onboard artificial intelligence and then reposition themselves to revisit the fire more frequently. The system compares each new image against prior passes to build confidence before committing propellant to a maneuver. In simulation, more than 20,000 low-confidence targets were evaluated, and a little over 100 reached the highest confidence level. This is a proof of concept demonstrated in simulation, with the researchers estimating practical deployment within about a decade.
The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games used ArcGIS to provide emergency and operations teams with a shared, real-time view across multiple venues serving nearly 3,000 athletes. The system combined transportation data, weather and lightning alerts, threat intelligence, and field observations. ArcGIS Survey123 forms allowed field staff to report incidents and conditions directly from competition sites, while bus movement and weather feeds helped operators respond to schedule changes and emerging risks.
GIS Policy & Standards Watch
NENA has opened public review of a draft Emergency Incident Data Object (EIDO) standard designed to support data exchange across NG9-1-1 and IP-based emergency communications systems. The standard defines an industry-neutral format for sharing incident information between systems from different vendors, public safety agencies, and other incident stakeholders. For GIS and 9-1-1 operators, this could make it easier to move location and incident data consistently across dispatch, mapping, response, and regional NG9-1-1 environments. Public comments are due September 28, 2026.
North Carolina has launched a 16-week statewide campaign to increase public awareness of Text-to-911, which allows residents to contact emergency communication centers by text when making a voice call is unsafe or impossible. More than 70,000 Text-to-911 messages were sent across the state in 2025. The campaign will run across television, streaming, connected TV, and mobile platforms and targets situations including medical emergencies, threats where speaking could create danger, and accessibility needs.
The Michigan State Police State 9-1-1 Committee reported to the Legislature that 82 of 83 counties had converted to the statewide NG911 network by December 2025, covering 120 primary, 11 secondary, and 15 backup Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), and that the network carried more than 5.2 million calls during the year. Wireless accounted for 4.92 million of those calls, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) 467,000, and wireline 304,000, with 47,176 texts received. Counties reported $347.96 million in total 9-1-1 revenue and $135.41 million in allowable surcharge expenditures, and the state fund holds an $11.8 million balance that includes a one-time $16 million general fund appropriation for NG9-1-1 infrastructure.
Insight of the Week
Chaffee County, Colorado, is preparing to activate a countywide set of pre-defined evacuation zones built on Genasys, replacing the current practice of an incident commander verbally describing an evacuation area to dispatch during an active event. Each zone polygon carries an approximate population, vehicle count, structure count, critical facilities such as schools, and planned traffic control points. The zone layer preloads into the county's Everbridge alerting platform, which also supports scenario simulation for fires and floods.
Resources & Events
Report Spotlight: Residential Structure Survivability to Large Wildfires in the United States (Earth's Future)
Researchers at the University of California, Merced, and Boise State University overlaid building footprints on large wildfire perimeters across the contiguous United States from 2001 to 2020 and attributed each structure to land cover, building age, and gridded fire weather. The dataset counts 462,069 homes inside fire perimeters, two-thirds of which are in the West, where exposure rose sixfold. Survivability fell 12% in the West and remained steady in the East, with post-1990 homes surviving at 90% compared with 84% for older structures.
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