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Regional 911 System in Texas to Get Microwave Backup Upgrade

The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission will spend about $3.3 million to erect 12 towers and equip five existing towers with the technology.

(TNS) -- A new microwave backup to the region's 911 emergency telephone service will add a layer of reliability in case of violent storms or an accidental slicing of a fiber-optic cable.

The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission will spend about $3.3 million to erect 12 towers and equip five existing towers with the technology, said Pete De La Cruz, director of the commission's 911 program.

Although it could become the primary system for Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties sometime in the future, for now it's designed as a backup, De La Cruz said.

Recently, a contractor in Lumberton building a new dentist's office sliced through a fiber-optic cable bundle in the ground.

The bundle contained the cable that connected to the Hardin County Sheriff's Office 911 dispatchers at the courthouse in Kountze.

No emergency calls were missed because all the Hardin County calls were routed to the Silsbee Police Department, the second location for incoming emergency calls in Hardin County.

But it did demonstrate a vulnerability of the 911 system, De La Cruz said.

Everyone with telephone service - whether it's a landline or wireless - pays 50 cents a month for 911 service, a fee that goes to the state comptroller.

The local agency that maintains the 911 system - in this case the regional planning commission - creates a budget for improvements and submits it to the Legislature, which approved the microwave system for Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties last year.

The regional 911 system serves a population of about 385,000 and averages about 400,000 calls a year, De La Cruz said.

Southeast Texas was the first regional 911 system in the state, he said. The system became operational on Dec. 12, 1991.

That was when the regional system required every resident to have a street address, particularly in rural areas, where people were comfortable giving directions like "third house after the oak tree that split after it was hit by lightning."

In the past 25 years, fiber optic cable has been installed for 911 service, with a new technology upgrade completed just a couple months ago, De La Cruz said.

When people with landlines call 911, a box on a dispatcher's screen appears that shows the phone customer's name, address and the appropriate responding agencies.

When a caller with a wireless connection calls in, the information that appears is less detailed but pinpoints the caller's location with the device's onboard GPS system.

De La Cruz said the microwave system presents the possibility for texting 911. He said it's working in a limited area in Dallas and that a test was completed in College Station a couple of months ago. The challenge lies in routing an emergency text to the appropriate dispatchers.

Twelve agencies in Southeast Texas receive 911 calls, De La Cruz said.

In Hardin County, calls go to the sheriff's office in Kountze and to the Silsbee police department.

In Jefferson County, calls go to the sheriff's office, the Beaumont police, Port Arthur police and to Nederland police, which also handles calls for Groves and Port Neches.

In Orange County, calls go to the Orange sheriff's office, city of Orange police and to police departments in Bridge City and Pinehurst.

©2016 the Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.