911 System Gets Major Upgrade

The province's 911 system is being replaced to ensure it remains reliable and continues to keep Nova Scotians in all regions safe.

"Regardless of where you live, the 911 system is a critical access point to the highest level of emergency health care, police assistance and fire response and an important part of our Better Care Sooner plan," said Ross Landry, Minister of Emergency Management.

"The government believes that investments in this service make life better and pay direct returns to the people of this province."

The Emergency Management Office today, April 13, issued a request for proposals for the equipment upgrade.

All 911 system software will be upgraded to meet the future demands of telecommunications technology. Computer-based hardware will also be upgraded for improved speed and capacity.

The new system will take advantage of recent developments in failsafe technology and have the ability to track the location of a moving vehicle where a 911 call originates.

The upgrade will also help in efforts to make life more affordable for Nova Scotians. Replacing the system at the right time will avoid increasing maintenance costs.

Nova Scotians who own telephones contribute 43 cents a month to support the 911 system. The province has committed funding for the project up front. Repayment will be done over five years using the emergency service fund.

The target date for the new service is March 31, 2012.

Nova Scotia's 911 emergency service was launched in 1997. It was the first provincewide service in Canada, and today remains one of only three such systems in the country.

Each year, about 200,000 calls, or around 540 calls every day, are taken from people often needing life-saving help. Just over half of all calls are made from landlines and the remainder from cellular phones.

Nova Scotia has 172 people taking calls at four independently operated 911 centres, in Halifax Regional Municipality, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Truro and Kentville.