Blog – “Learnings” from the 7th Annual Real Time Communications Conference

“Learnings” from the 7th Annual Real Time Communications Conference

October 13th, 2011. – By: Bill MacKay

Last week’s Blog provided an overview of the 7th Annual Real-Time Communications Conference and Expo held at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s School of Applied Technology and the Next Generation 911 program. This week I wanted to share some of my “Learnings”.

Several years ago I had the opportunity of attending a marketing program at Cornell that was presented by Professor Chekitan Dev. Each day would start with “Learnings” from the previous day. There was not a time allotment to limit discussion, just an opportunity to review and discuss the learnings. So in no particular order some “Learnings”…

Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet)

The ESInet will deliver the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) vision of Next Generation 9-1-1; “A system comprised of Emergency Services IP networks (ESInets), IP-based Software Services and Applications, Databases and Data Management processes that are interconnected to Public Safety Answering Point premise equipment.” ¹ (From the NENA.org/ng911 project web site)

The ESInet has set as a deliverable, “Any Device, Anywhere, Anytime”. This means that in addition to voice, the ESInet will also carry text, photo and video, and data only messages and at the same time, incorporate the flexibility to add new capabilities as they are developed. That will pose some unique challenges. The ESInet is intended to utilize SIP as a standard protocol.

ESInet and its implementation are facing a number of key issues. There was much discussion around funding issues and regulatory issues (more on that later). Like any new public safety initiative, how it gets paid for was first and foremost. There are some jurisdictions where E911/NG911 fund diversion is an on-going issue while others cited the out-dated land-line funding model. There is a need to overhaul the funding model, so that all jurisdictions will be able to get fair and equal access to monies being made available.

During a panel discussion one member noted that there will be a change in the data ownership and that there will also be the creation and storage of data that doesn’t currently exist. It’s an interesting perspective, as the ESInet will provide a Real Time open exchange.

There will be a significant amount of data generated in an ESInet environment, but we didn’t hear a great deal on where the information will be stored, who will have access rights, what storage format will be used, security issues, etc.

One comment made by Barbara Kemp of Assure911 Inc. during her presentation was, “When you plan for new technology, include a plan for its demise.” The NG911 ESInet is a new technology and yes, we should be including a replacement plan at some point in time. The timelines involved in getting to this stage of NG911 date back to some early meetings held in 2002/03, and we are just getting to an “almost good to go.” There is still much work to be accomplished, but at some point in time it will be very appropriate to consider “What’s next?”

During the conference there was an article that @kanemackay had tweeted on regarding Smartphones and Tablets and the apps that have been designed for Health Care. To quote the article, entitled Hold the Phone for Vital Signs is the following: “Ki Chon, professor and head of biomedical engineering at WPI, has developed a smart phone application that can measure not only heart rate, but also heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation using the phone's built-in video camera. The new app yields vital signs as accurate as standard medical monitors now in clinical use.”

This type of app and others that will follow will have a significant impact on the provision of Emergency Services and will need to be included as part of an ESInet design.

For more on this article please follow: http://www.cellular-news.com/story/51225.php

Regulatory

To quote Richard Hird, a NG911 panel member speaking on Legal and Regulatory Policy, “Regulatory change for NG911 is taking just way too long”. From the panel discussion on Legal and Regulatory, not only is it taking too long, it doesn’t appear capable of keeping up.

One panel member provided some insight by describing an incident where a government agency recognized an opportunity to improve the quality of service, for less money, with the implementation of some new technology. The new product was installed, however invoices continued to be delivered for the older, out-dated, re-placed product. The reason? Until legislation was passed, there was a regulatory obligation to use the replaced technology as it was prescribed by legislation and that the invoices will for this old equipment would also be required to be paid until the law is changed.

Regulations that were introduced in the 1960’s and 70’s have not been changed or have not been addressed and now, somehow, need to be retrofitted to reflect current market conditions. There is also the issue of individual state legislation that may be an obstruction or protectionist that will need to be addressed. Does the FCC have a role to play here?

The Lab

The IIT has a lab that allows students to work on a wide variety of technologies and various platforms from different manufacturers. During our tour, we were with one a representative of a manufacturer who noted the quantity and type of equipment currently in use. They wanted to ensure that “The Lab” is given an opportunity to work with the very latest release of equipment available. This type of response is exactly what is needed as the learning doesn’t stop.

During our tour of the lab we had the opportunity of learning more about the design and structure of the ESInet, as some of the technical design was white boarded as part of the current curriculum. An upcoming phase for the lab is a new piece of equipment intended to test the design of the ESInet. The purpose is to determine if the ESInet could be broken and if so, what broke it and how could the design be improved on. It was evident that the students are looking forward to working on this phase.

etc

If I were to consider one potential addition to the conference, it would be the addition of a Near Field Communications (NFC) track. NFC, in a recent article, was suggested to be the next billion dollar industry and the potential replacement for plastic money. A number of Smartphones are already NFC enabled, which leads me to believe that the all current tracks at this conference, (VoIP, Mobility, Unified Communications, Web, NG911) will be impacted and based on the current pace of change, likely much sooner than later.

We certainly enjoyed the exchange of information, from a peer group that was most impressive. The level of expertise was outstanding and we were pleased to have asked to contribute to this Conference and hope that we have the opportunity again next year.

We would recommend that you look for Blair Pleasant’s article regarding the UC Track that can be found on the UC Strategies web site. See http://blog.ucstrategies.com/