The North Carolina Department of Information Technology's (NCDIT) NG911 system — powered by AT&T's ESInet™ — ensured emergency calls were rerouted to unaffected areas when help was needed. The storm impacted 19 public safety answering points (PSAPs) in North Carolina, but calls were able to be rerouted to 23 partner PSAPS in other portions of the state. All told, officials answered nearly 90,000 emergency calls from Sept. 26-28, an increase in call volume of 55 percent compared to the same time period last year.
L.V. Pokey Harris, executive director of the N.C. 911 Board, highlighted how far the state’s 911 response has come in a news release provided by email, comparing the current ESInet-powered system’s resilience to older technologies.
“The statewide ESInet was a literal lifesaver during and after Hurricane Helene,” Harris said in a statement. “Had the old technology and analog network still been in place, the infrastructure would have been destroyed and we would not have had the capability to route calls to other PSAPs and connect people to critical emergency services.”
The state’s Network Monitoring and Assistance Center (NMAC) in Raleigh assisted by monitoring the ESInet’s service and performance, and coordinating efforts to immediately, automatically reroute 911 calls based on preset route plans created by the PSAPs.
Jim Weaver, NCDIT secretary and state CIO, praised PSAP managers and N.C. 911 Board staff for managing the life-saving technology.
“Events like Hurricane Helene demonstrate how 911 telecommunicators truly are the first, first responders,” Weaver said in a statement, proclaiming them the “calm and reassuring voice on the other end of the phone during dire circumstances.”
The state was also in constant communication during the hurricane with vendors AT&T, Intrado, and Motorola, who worked with agencies to ensure the entire system functioned as intended, per the news release.
And, said Harris: “Thanks to the resiliency and redundancy of this network, we had no reports of 911 calls not being delivered.”
