SANTA CLARA, CA--(Marketwired - June 08, 2017) - Recently, New York City Council voted unanimously to implement the NYC 9-1-1 Direct Access Law which will ensure New Yorkers can directly access 9-1-1 from any multi-line telephone system (MLTS) phone in the five boroughs.
The law takes effect immediately on all new MLTS phones and by 2019 for all existing MLTS phones, according to Avaya, a global leader in mission critical, real-time communication applications of the world's most important operations. Led by CEO Kevin Kennedy, Avaya has been advocating for support of this functionality, known federally and in many states as Kari's Law.
"This law is one more measure to make New York City safer, and ensure everyone has direct and equal access to emergency help," says New York City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. "By requiring businesses to provide direct access to 911 by eliminating the need to dial a code for an outside line, and providing a central location for emergency personnel, we can streamline the emergency call and response process and save precious seconds that could be the difference between life and death. I'm proud to have sponsored this legislation and thank all advocates for their dedication."
The 911 Direct Access Bill approved by the New York City Council, has previously been enacted as Kari's Law by legislators in Suffolk County, New York, and governors in Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, and Maine. A Federal version of Kari's Law, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year in a 408-0 vote, has three critical components:
- 9-1-1 Direct Access -- All telephone systems must allow access to the digits 9-1-1 without the use of any prefix, post-fix, or trunk access code.
- On-Site Notification -- When an emergency call is originated, on-site notification of the event must be provided.
- Direct Routing -- Calls to 9-1-1 must be routed directly to the agency authorized to service the address.
The bill is awaiting action in the US Senate under S.123.
The core 911 functionality required by Kari's Law has been available for decades in solutions from Avaya. Avaya has the end-to-end call processing experience -- from originating networks and systems, through the carrier and to the Public Safety Answering Point -- to help Public Safety address the challenges of modern IP based networks and architectures. Avaya currently holds more than 5,000 patents, including location discovery mechanisms, correlation of emergency event data, and using the Internet of Things and big data to make command and control decisions when time is of the essence.
Avaya offers mission critical services in a resilient, reliable and secure environment to Public Safety agencies (PSAPs). In collaboration with the European Emergency Number Association in Brussels, and the National Emergency Number Association, Avaya is helping replace the many legacy first responder systems developed and deployed in the 1960s and 1970s, better connect the more than 6,000 9-1-1 centers across the United States and transform how first responders save lives.
Avaya is the global market share leader in Contact Center1 and offers public safety communication centers the same mission critical services that provide resilient and reliable infrastructure to the world's largest airlines, financial institutions and other major enterprises in an interoperable but secure environment.
Additional Quotes:
"What an outstanding outcome for New Yorkers who will be even safer than ever before. Just as importantly, this is a great reward for Kari's family after more than 3 years of championing this cause. We at Avaya are proud to play a small role in facilitating and providing the thought leadership behind the continued transformation of Public Safety networks."
Jean Turgeon, Vice President & Chief Technologist
"I could not be more pleased by what the New York City Council has done to make 911 what it was intended to be -- a three-digit lifeline for those in need. From Day 1, the goal of the Kari Hunt Foundation has been to ensure that Kari's Law saves lives, no matter what the title. The professional assistance we have and continue to receive from Avaya Corporation assures us we have teamed with the right people."
Hank Hunt, Kari's Dad
"Personally, I am honored to be able to help deliver this message for my dear friend Hank Hunt, a fellow father, and tireless advocate for smart technology deployed in a way that protects each of us. Most of all, I am extremely proud of the quick action by Elizabeth Crowley, who drove this legislation to the unanimous vote. This is just another example of Avaya's corporate responsibility program that makes me proud to be an employee."
Mark J. Fletcher, Chief Architect Worldwide Public Safety Solutions. Avaya
About Avaya
Avaya enables the mission critical, real-time communication applications of the world's most important operations. As the global leader in delivering superior communications experiences, Avaya provides the most complete portfolio of software and services for contact center and unified communications with integrated, secure networking -- offered on premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid. Today's digital world requires some form of communications enablement, and no other company is better positioned to do this than Avaya. For more information, please visit www.avaya.com.
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1 Worldwide: U.S., Canada, EMEA, CALA: Canalys, Worldwide Contact Centre Market and Forecasts, August 2016