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Combined Communications reports improved 911 location accuracy, lists upgrades and planned server replacements
Summary
The Sweetwater County Combined Communications interim director told the council that 2024 brought improved 911 location accuracy, increased RapidSOS adoption and several infrastructure upgrades and upcoming capital projects funded in part by ARPA and other sources.
David Halter, interim executive director and IT director for the Seward Combined Communication Center, presented 2024 operations statistics and staff projects to the Green River City Council.
Halter said the center handled 14,813 911 calls in 2024 and that 90.64% of 911 calls were wireless. He reported a sharp improvement in location accuracy: 9.25% of wireless calls provided only a phase-1 tower location, while 90.68% were phase 2 (caller-level) locations; RapidSOS location data was available on 81.96% of calls, improving the center’s ability to pinpoint callers.
Halter also described other developments: 68 text-to-911 messages in 2024; occasional text messages routed over satellite for remote rescues; new alarm-text integrations that deliver alarm information to dispatch screens; and adoption of Smart911 safety profiles and facility profiles recommended for public buildings.
On technology projects, Halter listed completed work (a server upgrade, a microwave link replacement and procurement of fixed “console” radios using ARPA funds) and near-term plans: replacing three more servers because vendor software support ends, adding multi-factor authentication across systems, replacing an aging microwave link, and upgrading a firewall to connect the detention center and sheriff’s office to the dispatch network.
Halter recommended that schools, public facilities and city departments consider facility profiles in Smart911 to provide first responders with building layouts, hazards and utility shutoff locations when a 911 caller is at those addresses. He closed by taking questions from councilors about where Smart911 data is housed and by noting the center’s software platform and user counts.
