ASAP Program to Broaden Membership Beyond Charter Companies
The group of 42 monitoring providers contracted in the ASAP-to-PSAP initiative is expected to grow as more emergency call centers enroll in the system.
VIENNA, Va. – The Central Station Alarm Association announces the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) will move into the next phase of its deployment and begin admitting non-charter members of the initiative to the program.
Developed in 2011 by Association of Public Communications Officials (APCO) and CSAA, the ASAP initiative aims to increase the efficiency and reliability of emergency electronic signals from central stations to Public Service Answering Points (PSAPs).
ASAP utilizes the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETs) to provide listed central stations a secure connection to PSAPs. The program replaces the telephone calls between the alarm company and the 911 PSAP call-takers, eliminating any hold times central station operators may have when making a dispatch.
The 100 CSAA member companies that have helped fund the roll-out of the ASAP-to-PSAP protocol have been the test bed for deploying central stations to the program, says Ed Bonifas, co-chair of CSAA’s ASAP Steering Committee.
“Today we are ready to extend the invitation to participate to non-charter members of CSAA,” he says.
There are seven Public Safety Answering Points [PSAPs] presently on the system: Richmond, Va.; York County, Va.; James City County, Va.; Washington, D.C.; Houston; Tempe, Ariz.; and Morgan County, Ala. Later this year Boston, Seattle and the entire state of Delaware are expected to join the program.
“Currently 10 of the top 11 alarm monitoring companies in the nation are contracted and under various stages of deployment and testing on the system,” Bonifas says.
Protection 1 and Guardian Protection Services are the most recent companies to complete admittance procedures to the program. Altogether there are 42 companies contracted for connection; however, some of them are in areas that do not yet have an active PSAP.
For more information on how to participate in the ASAP program, contact CSAA at [email protected] or (703) 242-4670.
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