Interoperability Program Reaches Milestone in Alarm Transmission

The Public Safety Data Interoperability (PSDI) program has had a successful conversion of the External Alarm Interface Information Exchange Packet Documentation (IEPD) to the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) version 2.0.

NIEM is designed to develop, disseminate and support information sharing standards and processes across the whole of the public safety, justice, emergency and disaster management, intelligence and homeland security enterprise at all levels and across all branches of government.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), funded the program and the IEPD conversion project. The PSDI program is co-managed by the IJIS Institute and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Int’l.

The purpose of the External Alarm Interface IEPD is to provide a standard data exchange for electronically transmitting information between an alarm monitoring company and a public safety answering point (PSAP). The External Alarm IEPD has been in development since 2004, and has been tested by the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) and Vector Security, as well as other partnerships.

After being in operation with the testing partners for two years, more than 5,000 alarm exchanges have been transmitted between Vector Security and two Virginia PSAPs.

The External Alarm Interface Exchange concept has been submitted to the APCO American National Standard (ANS) process with the intent of becoming a national standard that Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) providers, alarm monitoring company software providers, and 9-1-1 PSAPs can utilize. This process was opened for public comment in early November.

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Security Is Our Business, Too

For professionals who recommend, buy and install all types of electronic security equipment, a free subscription to Commercial Integrator + Security Sales & Integration is like having a consultant on call. You’ll find an ideal balance of technology and business coverage, with installation tips and techniques for products and updates on how to add to your bottom line.

A FREE subscription to the top resource for security and integration industry will prove to be invaluable.

Subscribe Today!

Get Our Newsletters