Queen Anne’s County Transforms Public Safety Communications with AT&T ESInet™
Next Generation 9-1-1 Improves Resiliency and the Ability to Share Information Throughout Maryland and Neighboring States
Queen Anne's County Department of Emergency Services and AT&T* have successfully launched AT&T ESInet™ as part of a total upgrade to the county's 9-1-1 operations center. The new 9-1-1 system represents an industry transformation that will enhance public safety by acknowledging and catering to the rapidly evolving demands, products, lifestyles, and technologies of our citizens.
In early 2018, taking advantage of an established strong alliance known as ESCA (Eastern Shore Communications Alliance), Queen Anne's County and our neighboring ESCA counties started evaluating Next Generation 9-1-1 vendors that could meet their needs. After an extensive evaluation, all nine counties on the Eastern Shore decided as a group to go with AT&T ESInet™, and Queen Anne's, as the lead on the project, signed the Master Contract in December 2020. One of the advantages of working together on this project is that all Eastern Shore 9-1-1 operation centers will be using the same system, which will improve the ability to communicate and share information.
“The Queen Anne’s County Commissioners are very proud of our Department of Emergency Services and command staff. They are consistently leading the charge in new innovative ways to communicate and offer amazing service to Queen Anne’s County citizens.” said Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Phil Dumenil
"Although Queen Anne's County is the first to migrate over to the new system, the rest of the eastern shore isn't far behind," said Scott Haas, Director of Department of Emergency Services, Queen Anne's County. "Thanks to the Maryland 911 Board and State Senator Cheryl Kagan for leading the charge to change the law allowing 9-1-1 centers in the State to obtain additional funding to migrate to Next Generation 9-1-1 and have the funds to maintain these services. The funding was provided by the Maryland 9-1-1 Board as part of the statewide migration of the 24 9-1-1 centers across the state to Next Generation 9-1-1 and did not impact our local county budget."
"Every Marylander deserves equal access to reliable 9-1-1 services no matter where they live, work, or travel around our state. I am proud to have chaired Maryland's statewide Next Generation 9-1-1 Commission, which enabled the life-saving upgrades needed to make this a reality. Congratulations to the public safety leadership in Queen Anne's County for stepping up to Next Generation 9-1-1. This is a long and complex process that will help ensure fast and accurate response when residents need police, fire, or paramedics in an emergency." said Senator Cheryl C. Kagan
Since 2018 Queen Anne's County Department of Emergency Services could accept text to 9-1-1 calls, partnering with AT&T ESInet™ will allow for expanded messaging capabilities and video 9-1-1 calls in the near future.
“As part of the national transformation to Next Generation 9-1-1, AT&T ESInet™ solution allows Queen Anne's County and its 9-1-1 call centers to have more reliable services to improve public safety outcomes. We are continuously providing customers with advanced and reliable public safety solutions needed to be resilient, flexible, and responsive during an emergency," said Denis Dunn, President, AT&T Maryland. "We look forward to continuing to work with Queen Anne's County Department of Emergency Services and the ESCA alliance to expand their public safety solutions so they can focus on protecting their communities."
AT&T is leading the way in the U.S. market with Next Generation 9-1-1 solutions that are critical to keeping communities safe and helping save lives. For the fourth consecutive year, AT&T has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the Market Leadership Award for U.S. NextGen 9-1-1 Services.
To learn more about Queen Anne’s County Department of Emergency Services, visit qacdes.org or follow us on social media @QACDES. To learn more about AT&T’s Next Generation 9-1-1 solutions, visit www.att.com/ng911.