Next Generation 911: National 911 Program Could Strengthen Efforts to Assist States
Highlights
What GAO Found
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) National 911 Program's most recent national survey on Next Generation 911 (NG911) implementation indicated that about half of states were in some phase of transition to NG911 in 2015, but that state and local progress varied. Specifically, 10 states reported that all 911 authorities in their state processed calls using NG911 systems; however, 18 states reported having no state or local NG911 transition plans in place—which may indicate these states were in the early phases of planning for the transition to NG911 or had not yet begun. GAO spoke with state and local 911 officials in 9 states, which were in various phases of implementing NG911, and found that none of the 9 selected states were accepting images, audio files, or video. State and local 911 officials identified a number of challenges to implementing NG911. Such challenges are related to funding, evolving technology and operations, and governance. For example, officials in 3 states said that the current funding they collect from telephone service subscribers may not be sufficient to support NG911's transition costs while simultaneously funding the operation of existing 911 systems.
Federal agencies—including NHTSA, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security—have responsibilities to support NG911 implementation, such as through coordinating activities and administering grants, and are taking actions to assist state and local entities in addressing challenges to NG911's implementation. Such actions include developing resources, offering technical assistance, and convening stakeholders to explore emerging NG911 issues. For example, as the lead entity for coordinating federal NG911 efforts, NHTSA's National 911 Program is developing resources on NG911 topics, such as federal funding and governance structures. While the National 911 Program is taking steps to facilitate the state and local transition to NG911, the program lacks specific performance goals and measures to assess its progress. Without such goals and measures, it is not clear to what extent the program is effectively achieving its mission.
In 2018, the National 911 Program plans to establish an interagency initiative tasked with creating a National NG911 Roadmap. This roadmap is intended to identify next steps for the federal government in supporting the creation of a national, interconnected NG911 system. While the National 911 Program is taking steps to develop a list of national-level tasks as part of its roadmap initiative, the program does not have a plan to identify: (1) roles or responsibilities for federal entities to carry out these tasks or (2) how the program plans to achieve the roadmap's objectives. Collaborating with the appropriate federal agencies to determine federal roles and responsibilities to carry out the roadmap's national-level tasks could reduce barriers to agencies effectively working together to achieve those tasks. Furthermore, developing an implementation plan that details how the roadmap's tasks will be achieved would place the National 911 Program in a better position to effectively lead interagency efforts to implement NG911 nationwide.
Why GAO Did This Study
Each year, millions of Americans call 911 for help during emergencies. However, the nation's legacy 911 system relies on aging infrastructure that is not designed to accommodate modern communications technologies. As a result, states and localities are upgrading to NG911, which offers improved capabilities, such as the ability to process images, audio files, and video. While deploying NG911 is the responsibility of state and local entities, federal agencies also support implementation, led by NHTSA's National 911 Program, which facilitates collaboration among federal, state, and local 911 stakeholders.
GAO was asked to review NG911 implementation nationwide. This report examines: (1) state and local progress and challenges in implementing NG911 and (2) federal actions to address challenges and planned next steps. GAO reviewed relevant statutes, regulations, and federal agency reports and plans. GAO also analyzed NHTSA's survey data on state 911 implementation for calendar year 2015, the most recent year for which data were available, and interviewed federal officials, state and local officials from nine states (selected to represent different regions and various phases of NG911 implementation), and officials from industry and advocacy groups.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that NHTSA's National 911 Program develop performance goals and measures and, for the National NG911 Roadmap, determine agencies' roles and responsibilities and develop an implementation plan. NHTSA agreed with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Regarding the National 911 Program, the Administrator of NHTSA should develop specific program goals and performance measures related to NG911 implementation. (Recommendation 1) |
States and localities are upgrading the aging infrastructure of legacy 911 systems to Next Generation 911 (NG911), which offers improved capabilities, such as the ability to process images, audio files, and video. While deploying NG911 is the responsibility of state and local entities, federal agencies also support implementation, led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) National 911 Program, which supports collaboration among federal, state, and local 911 stakeholders. In 2018, GAO reported that the National 911 Program is taking steps to facilitate the state and local transition to NG911, but lacks specific performance goals and measures to assess its progress. Without such goals and measures, it is not clear to what extent the program is effectively achieving its mission. Consequently, GAO recommended that NHTSA develop specific program goals and performance measures related to NG911 implementation. In 2021, GAO confirmed that the program had developed goals and measures to assess progress in implementing NG911. The goals and measures are tailored toward the agency's roles of supporting and encouraging completion of NG911 implementation tasks, providing resources, and monitoring progress. The goals include supporting efforts to develop and share guidance and best practices, providing resources on standards and state authorities, and maintaining data on states' implementation status. Depending on whether these are efforts with a clear end-point or are ongoing, the associated measures generally assess whether a goal's key task has been completed or, for ongoing tasks, that the program completed an annual update or report. Having implemented these goals and measures should help the National 911 Program better demonstrate progress in working with state and local governments to transition to NG911.
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| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Regarding the National 911 Program, the Administrator of NHTSA should, in collaboration with the appropriate federal agencies, determine roles and responsibilities of federal agencies participating in the National NG911 Roadmap initiative in order to carry out the national-level tasks over which each agency has jurisdiction. (Recommendation 2) |
States and localities are upgrading the aging infrastructure of legacy 911 systems to Next Generation 911 (NG911), which offers improved capabilities, such as the ability to process images, audio files, and video. While deploying NG911 is the responsibility of state and local entities, federal agencies also play a role to support its implementation. Until 2022 when their statutory authority expired, NHTSA and NTIA co-led a program to serve as a focal point for federal coordination of efforts related to NG911 implementation. DHS and FCC also have specific NG911-related roles. In 2018, we reported that this program was planning to establish an interagency initiative tasked with creating a National NG911 Roadmap, which was intended to identify next steps for the federal government in supporting NG911. However, we found that the program did not have a plan to identify the roles or responsibilities for federal entities to carry out these tasks. Our prior work has found that following leading collaboration practices, such as clarifying roles and responsibilities of agencies engaged in collaboration, can enhance and sustain collaboration among agencies and provide an understanding of who will do what in support of meeting the aims of the collaborative group. We recommended that NHTSA, in collaboration with the appropriate federal agencies, determine roles and responsibilities of federal agencies participating in the National NG911 Roadmap initiative in order to carry out the national-level tasks over which each agency has jurisdiction. We confirmed in 2022 that NHTSA issued the NG911 Roadmap, and in 2024, NHTSA provided us its completed NG911 Roadmap Outreach Report, which outlines the roles of federal agencies involved in NG911 implementation tasks. To develop the report, NHTSA met individually with each relevant agency. The agencies reviewed the NG911 tasks and considered those that were within their purview. NHTSA's report summarized these tasks and noted each agency's identified role for the tasks as leading, supporting, informing, or monitoring. With the publication of this report, NTHSA has provided better clarity on the specific roles of federal agencies involved in NG911 implementation, which could reduce barriers to the agencies effectively working together to achieve the national-level tasks, which meets the intent of our recommendation.
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| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Regarding the National 911 Program, the Administrator of NHTSA should develop an implementation plan to support the completion of the National NG911 Roadmap's national-level tasks. (Recommendation 3) |
The nation's legacy 911 system relies on aging infrastructure that is not designed to accommodate modern communications technologies. As a result, states and localities are upgrading to Next Generation 911 (NG911), which offers improved capabilities, such as the ability to process images, audio files, and video. While deploying NG911 is the responsibility of state and local entities, federal agencies also support implementation, led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) National 911 Program, which facilitates collaboration among federal, state, and local 911 stakeholders. In 2018, GAO reported that the National 911 Program was working to create a National NG911 Roadmap to identify next steps for the federal government in supporting the creation of a national, interconnected NG911 system. However, the program did not have a plan to identify how the program planned to achieve the roadmap's objectives and national level tasks. GAO previously reported that having an implementation plan can assist agencies to better focus and prioritize goals and objectives, and align planned activities. Therefore, GAO recommended that the Administrator of NHTSA develop an implementation plan to support the completion of the National NG911 Roadmap's national-level tasks. In 2022, GAO confirmed that NHTSA's National 911 Program issued the NG911 Roadmap, the purpose of which is to focus on what needs to be done at the national level to implement NG911. The roadmap divides implementation tasks into five goal areas. The National 911 Program also issued its most recent NG911 Roadmap Progress Report, which described the current status of NG911 deployment and what needed to be accomplished in the future. Having this more detailed plan with progress reports for implementing the tasks of the National NG911 Roadmap will place the National 911 Program in a better position to effectively lead efforts to implement NG911 nationwide.
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