Mission Critical Partners experts selected for NG911 Interoperability Task Force

Mission Critical Partners (MCP), a leading consulting and managed services firm specializing in public safety and justice, announced today that three of its subject-matter experts were selected to serve on the Next Generation 911 (NG911) Interoperability Task Force.

The task force is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate. Other organizations participating in the joint effort include:

• Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (ICERT)
• National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
• National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA)
• NG911 Interoperability Oversight Commission
• National 911 Program, a unit of the Department of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT/NHTSA)

The task force was created to develop a governance structure, sustainable financial model, and technical requirements to stimulate the implementation of interoperable NG911 systems nationwide. Technical goals include standards development and a testing program to ensure end-to-end interoperability of NG911 systems and components. 

MCP’s Jackie Mines was named to the task force’s governance committee. Mines was executive director of the Emergency Communication Networks division within the state of Minnesota Department of Public Safety before joining the firm four years ago. Since then, she has supported NG911 system strategic planning, implementation, and interoperability through her involvement in important initiatives such as the NG911 Cost Study, the NG911 Roadmap, and the Interstate Playbook, which were developed in partnership with the National 911 Program. 

Jamie Sullivan and Michael Fain from MCP also were named to the technical committee. Sullivan was selected based on his experience working with next-generation core services (NGCS) providers. NGCS represents the functional elements that enable emergency communications centers (ECCs) to handle emergency calls in an NG911 environment.

Specifically, Sullivan gained considerable insight into how voice traffic generated by originating service providers — predominantly telecommunications carriers — flows into an ECC and then is processed by the center’s call-handling equipment. 

Fain was selected based on his comprehensive experience engineering and architecting telephony systems. Throughout his career, he has certified 911 call-handling systems and transitioned to designing NG911 products provisioned by the carrier. 

“This is a huge opportunity for MCP to showcase its knowledge, expertise, and experience on the national stage,” said Darrin Reilly, president and CEO. “It also is an opportunity to inform the process to implement NG911 systems and services from coast to coast in a manner that ensures that citizens receive a consistent standard of care regardless of where they are at any given moment.”