SouthernLINC Wireless Rolls Out Next Generation 9-1-1 Routing throughout Alabama Coverage Area

MONTGOMERY, Ala., May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alabama 9-1-1 Board announced today that SouthernLINC Wireless has successfully transitioned the delivery of 9-1-1 wireless calls to the 95 Alabama PSAPs within the carrier's service area to the Alabama Next Generation Emergency Network (ANGEN). SouthernLINC is the first carrier in Alabama to complete this transition.

ANGEN is a multi-year, multiphase project that, when completed, will make Alabama one of the first states to deliver an all-IP network solution for 9-1-1 services.  The network will significantly improve the delivery of 9-1-1 services in Alabama and will prepare Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) to take advantage of text, video, images and other data to improve response to emergency calls. In addition to improvements in call handling, ANGEN is expected to reduce the expenses associated with 9-1-1 for phone companies and PSAPs as well.

"How thrilled I was back in 2007 when Governor Riley appointed me to represent wireless carriers on the Emergency Communications District Long-Range Study Commission to evaluate, examine and make recommendations for the delivery of 9-1-1 calls over a next generation 9-1-1 platform," stated Jean Martin, Senior Technical Analyst for Regulatory Compliance, Legal & External Affairs at SouthernLINC.  "To see LINC accomplish this today is absolutely incredible," Martin continued.

An important improvement on today's ANGEN system is the provision of dual-path access to the PSAP vs. the single-path delivery used by legacy systems. This built-in redundancy further improves the ability for citizens to get help in a crisis, such as large-scale disasters that may otherwise negatively affect a single-path 9-1-1 system.

"I want to thank SouthernLINC Wireless and Jean Martin for their leadership and commitment to the citizens of Alabama for being the front runner in transitioning their network to ANGEN. This leadership and commitment will assist their customers and our citizens when they need assistance the most," said Alabama 9-1-1 Board Chairman Roger Wilson.

ANGEN is working to finish Phase 1 of the deployment process where all wireless 9-1-1 calls will flow through ANGEN for routing to the state's 117 PSAPs. ANGEN recently began work on Phase 2 where 9-1-1 calls will be delivered using SIP for IP-enabled PSAPs or calls will be converted and delivered using CAMA technology for legacy PSAPs.

"We're pleased to have completed SouthernLINC's integration across their entire service area in the State of Alabama. We expect to see other carriers following quickly on the heels of SouthernLINC. Other wireless carriers in the state are at various stages of MSC integration and all have plans in place to complete integration in 2014," said Jason Jackson, Executive Director for the Alabama 9-1-1 Board.

About ANGEN
ANGEN is the Alabama Next Generation Emergency Network, a project to install an Internet Protocol (IP) network to allow handling 9-1-1 calls via IP. On September 30, 2013, the Alabama 9-1-1 Board took over responsibility for the ANGEN project from the Alabama Wireless 9-1-1 Board. The project is being funded by the participating 9-1-1 Districts and a matching federal grant with annual operating expenses from the Alabama Wireless 9-1-1 Board's cost recovery fund and the local 9-1-1 Districts' existing budget as ANGEN replaces existing costs in later phases. Visit http://www.angen.org.

About SouthernLINC Wireless
SouthernLINC Wireless, a Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is an Atlanta-based regional wireless carrier with highly survivable network coverage in the major metro and rural areas of Alabama, Georgia, southeast Mississippi and northwest Florida. Alabama Power and Southern Company's other electric utilities rely on Push To Talk two-way radio (PTT), cellular service, wireless data, and text and picture messaging from SouthernLINC Wireless. For more information, please call 1-800-818-LINC (5462) or visit http://www.southernlinc.com.

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SOURCE SouthernLINC Wireless