“We are pleased with the strong partnership between MARC and GeoComm for the 9-1-1 Security, Redundancy, and Diversity project. The results of the team’s efforts provided us with important information and guidance we need for developing our annual work plan and five year strategic plan. GeoComm fully incorporated the PSAP Service Capability Criteria Matrix into their analysis and recommendations, ensuring we operate based on the most recent industry standards.”

Redundancy, Diversity, and Security Study

MARC & GeoComm Partner for Regionwide Study

The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), the nine county Kansas City metropolitan area with a population of 1.72 million, developed a plan for 9-1-1 security, redundancy, and diversity for their regional public safety system while partnering with GeoComm’s consulting team. GeoComm worked with the MARC public safety team to review and analyze the two major 9-1-1 systems in the region, the related infrastructure, and processes from operational, maintenance, and service level perspectives.

Beginning in September 2008 and completed in spring 2009, GeoComm worked with staff from the 47 PSAPs in the MARC region on a review of the security, redundancy, and diversity of the MARC 9-1-1 system. GeoComm and the MARC team were tasked with answering the following questions:

• How prepared are the PSAPs within the MARC region to maintain effective emergency communications during any disaster?
• What action can be taken to improve PSAP readiness and maintain the highest level of public safety communication services within the region during a crisis event?
• How robust is the overall regional E9-1-1 network?
• What vulnerabilities exist and what steps could be taken to improve the operational integrity of the system?
• How does the installation of the Regional Area Multi-Band Integrated System (RAMBIS) support the security and survivability goals and objectives facing MARC public safety officials?

Based on the answers to these questions, GeoComm developed short-term and long-term recommendations for PSAP security, redundancy, diversity, and configuration in a wide scale disaster. These recommendations included options for transferring dispatch duties to regional PSAPs in a wide scale emergency to general recommendations for getting PSAPs to meet industry recommended standards.

The MARC team is currently developing implementation strategies for these changes across the region.

MARC is a long-standing GeoComm customer with whom they are comfortable with, confident in, and enjoy open, candid communication.

“We are pleased with the strong partnership between MARC and GeoComm for the 9-1-1 Security, Redundancy, and Diversity project. The results of the team’s efforts provided us with important information and guidance we need for developing our annual work plan and five year strategic plan. GeoComm fully incorporated the PSAP Service Capability Criteria Matrix into their analysis and recommendations, ensuring we operate based on the most recent industry standards,” said Keith Faddis, Public Safety Program Director.

About MARC
The public safety program at MARC coordinates regional activities in the areas of public safety and communications interoperability. These activities include:

• Training and professional development courses for public safety personnel
• Administration of the regional 9-1-1 system and network ¡ Public safety outreach and education
• Communications interoperability coordination
• Geographic information systems coordination

For more information about the program, contact the public safety department staff at e911@marc.org.