As Next-Generation 911 continues to evolve, a group of Intrado executives issued predictions for how the service will develop.
While states works through funding and emergency services IP net (ESINet) provider selection, Intrado said many public safety answering points (PSAPs) are filling some of the gap by partnering with technology providers, to implement tools that approximate Next-Generation 911 features.
“This accelerated PSAP-level adoption creates both opportunities and risks,” Jeremy DeMar, Intrado senior government and regulatory affairs manager, said in a prepared statement.
“While it’s encouraging to see emergency response centers embrace modernization, patchwork deployment without coordinated state oversight raises critical concerns around cybersecurity, interoperability, and compliance with evolving federal standards. In 2026, states will play a pivotal role in advancing [Next-Generation 911] transformation by working closely with public safety authorities, PSAPs, and network providers.”
PSAPs will begin to benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) not just for emergency response, but for protecting the mental health and operational effectiveness of 911 telecommunicators themselves, according to DeMar.
The wealth of information available offers opportunities and challenges. Visual communications can help understand emergency situations but can affect the mental health of telecom operators who must process potentially traumatic content. AI-powered tools may help by evaluating imagery and providing early warnings to operators, Intrado said.
Intrado also predicted that the connected environment will feature more than just cars, ambulances, etc. For example, Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) enables PSAPs to receive critical data from a crash — such as speed, passenger count, and impact details.
Intrado noted that this Next-Generation 911 evolution means that policymakers need to rethink connected devices — cars, smart home systems, wearable technology, and IoT may all be systems that can contribute to emergency response networks.
Finally, Intrado predicted AI adoption in public safety will advance from experimental pilots to become an integral part of emergency response operations.
The evolution of Next-Generation 911 will depend, at least in part, on Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules. In March, the FCC introduced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would help implement the technology in a manner that enables calls to be transferred between networks without introducing new vulnerabilities.
