Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and Telecommunications Industry Association announced the release of J-STD-110, Joint ATIS/TIA Native SMS to 9-1-1 Requirements & Architecture Specification, a standard that, upon implementation, will provide short message service (SMS) subscribers the ability to send an SMS text message to 9-1-1. This industry-generated solution positions service providers to have a fully operational text to 9-1-1 solution in place by May 15, 2014, the target date communicated to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA and Verizon, all active participants in the J-STD-110 development. These four service providers have pointed to J-STD-110 to support the voluntary framework for an interim text to 9-1-1 solution, which supports coarse location to route the text to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), the ability to send a text to the short code "911," and delivery of a message advising the caller to dial 9-1-1 when texting to 9-1-1 is not available. This interim solution will be implemented while the long-term Next Generation 9-1-1 solution is being developed in ATIS and 3GPP for Multimedia Messaging Emergency Services in the next technology generation. The development of J-STD-110 is a consensus response from the telecommunications service provider and manufacturer community to address the critical need to enable delivery and reception of native SMS text to and from the PSAP. "In the short-term, the standard will enable life-saving communications between those in situations where voice conversations are not possible, and will augment the deaf and hard of hearing community's ability to communicate with emergency services in a timely fashion. In the long-term, this standard will serve as a bridge to a future next generation 9-1-1 service that will see numerous benefits for the public, including enhanced accessibility to 9-1-1 services, improved information sharing with PSAPs at a quicker rate, and a more diverse, reliable and resilient communications medium for reaching emergency services.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation announced that Martin Nuss, chief technology officer at Vitesse, will join the board of directors for the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS).

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) announced a collaboration to develop the near-term text-to-9-1-1 solution. This work will provide the standards that, upon implementation, will provide short message service (SMS) subscribers the ability to send an SMS text message to 9-1-1. Currently, in the U.S., the capability for the public to contact 9-1-1 through texting does not exist. During an emergency situation, initiating a voice call to 9-1-1 is the preferred and most efficient method of communication; however, the ability for such communication is not always an option. The ATIS/TIA standards solution will create a common approach for users to send and public safety personnel to receive text messages, and provides the capability for them to communicate. It is critical that texting to 9-1-1 have a similar 'look and feel' regardless of where the text originates in the U.S., and the ATIS/TIA standards solution makes this possible. It also supports the implementation of an auto-reply message advising an SMS subscriber to dial 9-1-1 if texting to 9-1-1 is unavailable in that area. The joint ATIS/TIA solution is envisioned without a third-party relay function and without redesigning the existing SMS architecture. The service that results from this collaboration is an interim solution while the long-term Next Generation 9-1-1 solution continues to be developed in ATIS and 3GPP for Multimedia Messaging Emergency Services in the next technology generation.