Bandwidth at Crexendo UGM 2026: Why Next Generation 911 Is a Critical Issue for Service Providers, Podcast

Bandwidth at Crexendo UGM 2026: Why Next Generation 911 Is a Critical Issue for Service Providers, Podcast

By Doug Green

“Everybody wants to know it's there. They want to have the security that they can call 911 and get help immediately. But they just want it to work.”

That observation from Robin Erkkila, Emergency Services Solutions Engineer and Architect at Bandwidth, captures one of the telecommunications industry's most important and often overlooked responsibilities: making sure emergency calls reach the right people, with the right information, when every second counts.

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, recorded live at Crexendo's NetSapiens User Group Meeting (UGM) in Austin, Texas, Erkkila discusses the transition to Next Generation 911 (NG911), evolving FCC regulations, and how Bandwidth is helping service providers navigate an increasingly complex emergency communications environment.

The Compliance Challenge

Erkkila points to two major federal requirements, Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act, which established important emergency calling obligations for multi-line telephone systems (MLTS).

Despite years of implementation, Erkkila estimates that 35% to 40% of enterprises remain out of compliance with these requirements.

For MSPs, cloud communications providers, and channel partners, that represents both a significant responsibility and an opportunity to help customers modernize their emergency calling capabilities.

Erkkila also discusses FCC requirements involving 911 outage notifications, including the obligation for affected service providers to notify public safety answering points (PSAPs) when network outages may disrupt emergency calls.

Next Generation 911 Changes the Network

The transition to NG911 represents a fundamental modernization of emergency communications infrastructure.

Traditional 911 systems rely on legacy switching equipment, dedicated routing infrastructure, and separate location databases. NG911 replaces much of that architecture with IP-based networks capable of supporting richer communications and information exchange.

The promise extends beyond voice calls to include text, video, images, and additional location information that can help emergency responders understand and respond to an incident.

Erkkila explains the FCC's two-phase approach to the transition. Phase One moves emergency voice traffic onto IP-based interconnection infrastructure. Phase Two introduces the delivery of location information directly within SIP signaling.

“I can't overemphasize enough how big of a change this is for the industry,” Erkkila says.

Bandwidth and the Crexendo Ecosystem

As a key partner in the Crexendo and NetSapiens ecosystem, Bandwidth provides underlying voice and emergency services infrastructure that enables service providers to deliver communications services to their customers.

Erkkila explains that Bandwidth is managing much of the complexity associated with NG911 transitions, allowing its customers to continue using their existing provisioning processes while Bandwidth handles the necessary network translations and interconnections.

The objective is to simplify compliance and reduce the operational burden on providers as emergency networks evolve.

When Getting 911 Right Saves a Life

Erkkila closes the conversation with a story about a father who suffered a heart attack while preparing his five-year-old daughter for bed.

Although he managed to dial 911, he became unable to speak. His daughter, Savannah, took the phone and spoke with the dispatcher.

Because the emergency call included accurately provisioned location information, responders could be dispatched without requiring the child to provide an address. Emergency personnel arrived within minutes and saved her father's life.

For Erkkila, the story illustrates why emergency communications cannot simply be treated as another compliance checkbox.

“If you do 911 right, it literally saves lives.”

For MSPs, carriers, and communications service providers, the message is straightforward: reliable emergency calling is not simply a regulatory requirement. It is a fundamental responsibility to the people who depend on their networks.

Learn more: https://www.bandwidth.com/