Summary of the Statewide 911 Assessment:

Talking points from the Missouri 911 Infrastructure Assessment by L. Robert Kimball & Associates Architects and Engineers:

· 21 counties in Missouri (18%) have no 911 service at all. This is almost as many as the total number of counties in our eight neighboring states combined (26).

· Out of 171 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in the state, only 68 have enhanced wireless 911 service. (Enhanced 911 service is defined as an emergency telephone system that includes network switching, database and customer premises equipment capable of providing selective routing, transfer and certain maintenance functions.)

· There are 3.2 million wireline telephone subscribers in Missouri.

· There are 3.8 million wireless telephone subscribers in Missouri.

· The lifecycle of 911 equipment is seven years. 77% of Missouri’s PSAP equipment is more than six years old.

· Nearly all of the customer premises equipment (CPE) in Missouri PSAPs cannot be upgraded to accommodate new communications technologies being used by the public because it is so old and outdated.

· Most PSAPs lacked the ability to account for the number of wireless 911 calls versus wireline calls but estimated receiving 642,377 wireless calls per year.

· Missouri has no law mandating the provision of enhanced 911. As a result, 911 service is not available statewide and the level of service that exists is not consistent. In a widespread emergency, few of Missouri’s 911 systems will be able to communicate effectively with one another, if at all.

· A statewide IP-enabled infrastructure connecting PSAPs in a redundant environment should be a state goal.

· A fee of 75 cents per month per wireless (i.e., cellular and VOIP) 911 access would generate approximately $34.2 million per year.

· Missouri is the ONLY state in the nation that does not have a state wireless service recovery fee mechanism to fund wireless 911.

· Without a state wireless service recovery fee, Missouri will never attain statewide enhanced 911 service and some existing PSAPs will cease to exist because of lack of funding.