The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking proposals for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focused on the topic of "911 Voice-over-IP Telephone Dispatchable Location System". The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone service providers to provide a subscriber's verified street address, known as dispatchable location, to the 911 community when activating the VoIP service. However, when a VoIP subscriber moves without updating their address, emergency calls may be routed to the wrong 911 Emergency Call Center (ECC), resulting in delays in dispatching emergency personnel.
The proposed solution should enable VoIP service providers to maintain updated and verified dispatchable locations, ensuring that emergency calls are routed correctly. The solution should include requirements such as determining dispatchable location using the caller's current GIS location, detecting changes in physical location, adhering to regulations and standards, preserving privacy, providing access management, interoperability with legacy 911 and NG911 systems, and ensuring a minimum availability of 99% uptime. The solution should also have access to the location database of the legacy 911 system or the NG911 system if available.
The Phase I SBIR program is currently closed, with a release date of November 8, 2023, an open date of December 18, 2023, and a close date of January 18, 2024. More information can be found on the grants.gov website or the DHS SBIR program website.