| This area has been historically viewed as a local decision between the PSAP or other public safety entity, and the serving 9-1-1 system provider (typically a host ILEC). The ALI servers ALI transmission format and the PSAP CPE screen formatter, where applicable, are used to determine what stored ALI data items are sent to the PSAP CPE, and how the ALI screen is `painted with this information.
A national recommendation of `best choices for ALI content and organization for wireless applications is viewed to be appropriate and desirable. A number of factors include consistency of ALI field usage for wireless-unique data items, technical capability to use an appropriate field for analogous purposes between wireline and wireless, and future applications, CAD impacts, etc. Note that this may be an interim question prior to the XML tagged data handling approach defined by the NENA 4 data exchange standards. In addition, there are some related issues as to what data should be sent to the PSAP with the call, the impacts on failure mode situations, and how technical issues and policies around wireless E 9-1-1 service should evolve over time. Now that the national environment for wireless E 9-1-1 has started to clarify, the time has come to add focus in these types of areas, in the interests of less complexity, and more consistent service. For general information or discussion of this issue, contact NENAs Technical Issues Director, Roger Hixson, at [email protected]. |