“They tested [on] our lives,” a recently retired dispatcher told NBC Bay Area. “We never had so many failures.”
Some of the first 911 dispatchers to use California’s new Next Generation 911 network say the state deployed a problematic, unfinished system and it put people’s lives in danger. More than a year of digging by our NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovers years-worth of warnings about the project and 911 emergencies where help was delayed because of connectivity issues.
Next Gen 911 is the California Office of Emergency Service’s (Cal OES) project to upgrade the state’s landline-designed 911 technology to an internet-based system. It’s supposed to connect 911 centers like never before, but things aren’t going as planned, according to interviews with multiple sources and a review of 911 center documents obtained through public records requests. Dispatchers report experiencing lost calls and misrouted calls from other counties. In one case, callers were unable to call 911 for 12 hours.
With the project years behind schedule and already costing Californians nearly a half-billion dollars, state leaders still intended to ramp up deployment of Next Gen 911 statewide, including in big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. They insisted things were on track, and when asked if the new network is safe right now, Cal OES told the Investigative Unit it won’t deploy the system until it is. But Cal OES did deploy the problematic system – in smaller, rural areas across the state.
“It is a project that cannot fail,” the agency said. “It will be worthwhile.”
In August 2024, after NBC Bay Area started asking questions, Cal OES parted ways with the man behind project.
In November 2024, the first NBC investigations to air resulted in California immediately suspending Next Gen 911 deployment statewide and board members to investigate whether they were misled when Cal OES failed to inform them of problems before our news reports.
Part 1: California's 'disastrous' Next Gen 911 rollout delaying life-saving help, records show
Part 2: 'Lives are at stake': Next Gen 911 insiders say CA hired inexperienced companies
Part 3: State official ‘blindsided’ by Next Gen 911 safety concerns in NBC Bay Area reports
Part 4: CA suspends Next Gen 911 rollout, state advisors demand answers on safety issues
Want to reach out to Candice Nguyen about this report or another tip? E-mail candice.nguyen@nbcuni.com
