“This milestone reflects years of coordinated work by the ISP Division of Statewide 911, PSAPs, Emergency Telephone System Boards (ETSBs), local and regional stakeholders, and public and private partners,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Illinois has moved into the 21st century for 911 communication offering more efficient emergency services.”
Transitions to NG911 began with the first PSAP switching from the old to the new system in Grundy County on June 21, 2022, and concluded with the final PSAP cutover to AT&T Statewide ESInet in Northbrook on March 4, 2026.
“This accomplishment belongs first and foremost to the PSAPs and their ETSBs who did the day-to-day work to prepare, test, train, and transition, while continuing to answer 911 calls every hour of every day,” said Illinois Statewide 911 Administrator Alicia Atkinson. “It also reflects strong public-private partnership and coordination among local, regional, and statewide teams, including the ISP Division of Statewide 911, which supported readiness, testing, and implementation. While this is a major milestone worth celebrating, the work continues as we build on this foundation to strengthen service reliability and NG911 capabilities statewide.”
The upgrades were completed using various regional providers, including Comtech ESInet, INdigital ESInet, Motorola ESInet, AT&T Statewide ESInet.
“We’re dedicated to providing Illinois with reliable, modern emergency communications service,” said AT&T Illinois President Eileen Mitchell. “We’re honored to support the state’s public safety professionals and the communities they protect.”
The upgrade to NG911 means people in Illinois will have more efficient and reliable 911 emergency services. In a legacy 911 system, a wireless call to 911 could be routed to emergency services based on the location of a cell tower as opposed to the location of the caller. That could mean the call would have to be transferred to emergency services that were closer to the caller, causing a delay in response time. NG911 improves this by supporting geospatial call routing based on the caller’s actual location. NG911 also provides redundant capabilities for reliable service. For example, if multiple PSAPs were unable to operate in southern Illinois due to damaging storms and tornadoes, emergency calls in that area could be rerouted automatically and handled by PSAPs in other parts of the state.
Additionally, NG911 supports the continued expansion and reliability of Text-to-911, helping ensure equitable access to emergency services for individuals who cannot place a voice call. The upgraded system allows for more flexibility as 911 services evolve, including the potential to eventually allow for photo and video sharing between residents and PSAPs during emergency situations.