911 Upgrades from Google to ESRI

Based on recent article in the Portage Daily Register, Marquette County 911 was getting location information from 911 cell calls but didn't have any way to use it. So they improvised and used Google Maps.

Currently, dispatchers must wait several minutes before receiving information about a caller's location once a call is placed to the 911 center if the caller is using a cell phone.

After receiving a cell phone call, the dispatcher receives the coordinates of the cell tower used by the phone. The dispatcher then must wait another minute or more to receive the location of the cell phone, then input the coordinates into an Internet mapping program such as Google Maps. The Internet program then displays the location of the call.

The entire process can take several minutes, and is susceptible to delays due to Internet response times. If the Internet is not working, no location can be mapped for the dispatcher.

The system didn't work that well so they upgraded to an ESRI-based solution.

It is the geographic information system — a GIS software called ArcView made by ESRI, a company specializing in GIS and mapping software. ... "We literally GPS'd every single address in the county," ... The database should be available to Marquette County departments and emergency response personnel by the end of the year.