Update from California’s RED Project-NASCIO Cross-Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships Award Recipient
Update as of December 2011
In October 2011, the California State 9-1-1 Office received the NASCIO Cross Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships Award for the Routing on Empirical Data (RED) Project. The award was an honor for the 9-1-1 Office and more than 500 of our partners in the private sector and state and local government.
In 2007, the 9-1-1 Office identified that 42.4% of the 11.6 million wireless 9-1-1 calls made in California received busy signals or were not answered. Emergency calls made on cell phones did not always go through. In response, the 9-1-1 division initiated the RED Project to collaboratively improve cell phone routing and increase access for wireless 9-1-1 callers caused by the exponential growth of wireless calls. The RED Project analyzes historical empirical call data by cell sector to determine the most efficient delivery of wireless 9-1-1 calls. This helps ensure that wireless calls are routed to the emergency service provider that can most quickly respond to a 9-1-1 call.
Implementation began in 2009 with the analysis of millions of wireless 9-1-1 calls from 140,000 cell sectors. Calls were overlaid on jurisdictional Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) maps showing the location of calls and the sector coverage area. Maps showing the majority of calls emanating from a local PSAP’s jurisdiction were rerouted to the local PSAP, speeding emergency response.
Working collaboratively with the California Highway Patrol, PSAPs, and County Coordinators statewide, the 9-1-1 Office was able to determine the best routing for wireless calls while giving partners decision-making power via a web-based geographic information system that enables partners to analyze emergency call data and collaboratively determine the most efficient routing for 9-1-1 calls. Completion of the final phase of the RED Project was December 2011.
The RED project has dramatically improved wireless 9-1-1 response for Californians:
- The number of wireless 9-1-1 calls receiving a busy signal dropped from 4.9 million or 42% in 2007 to 2.37% as of September 30, 2011.
- Number of successfully processed wireless 9-1-1 calls went from 11.6 million in 2007 to 14.2 million at the end of 2010. As of September 30, 2011, 11.2 million calls have been processed during 2011.
- In 2007 the CHP processed 3.5 million 9-1-1 calls. As of September 30, 2011 the CHP had process 5.3 million calls.
- In 2007, local PSAPs processed 3.1 million 9-1-1 calls. As of September 30, 2011 local PSAPs process 5.6 million calls.
While the RED Project resulted in significant monetary savings and cost avoidances and improved ongoing collaboration among California’s 9-1-1 community, the most important outcome is that Californians in crisis can access emergency services immediately, helping to save lives.