The 911 systems in Lee County are getting an upgrade, including real-time video chat between callers and operators.

Lee County government officials last Wednesday announced the $3 million systems upgrade, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of 911 services in Lee County and National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.

Lee County Public Safety Director Ben Abes said the new systems replace “again, aging end-of-life equipment” and brings state-of-the-art technology to emergency call takers.

“It’s great to be able to come together today to celebrate a huge leap in this technology,” Abes said.

The new system will replace every component of the county’s 911 communications network, from computer networks to phone systems. Abes said it’s the largest replacement of this technology in the county in 35 years.

There are three main enhancements as a result of the new systems. Abes said first, the system is to provide automation to a number of key processes in 911 centers. Calls are immediately routed to an available call-taker, rather than ringing in a pool.

“And these calls are distributed evenly across call-taker for efficiency,” Abes said.

Those who 911 and hang up can get an automatic callback, rather than waiting for a call-taker to manually call the number back, “saving precious time,” Abes said.

The new system will also manage numerous tasks that formally required clicks of the mouse and typing. Now these happen without any manual intervention.

Second, the text-to-911 feature will be available to all of the county’s public safely answering points, and get an upgrade.

“With this next generation 911 system, all public safety answering points will receive text-to-911, with those messages routed to the appropriate agency using advanced location information,” Abes said.

Text-to-911 will also include the ability to submit photos through the system, and an option for the call-taker to send the 911-caller a link and enable real-time video streaming from the scene of the emergency.

“This feature will roll-out as these centers migrate to the new system,” Abes said. “We ask the public to call 911 when you can, and text 911 when you can’t.”

Finally, the system now introduces advanced location services.

“While technology has improved over the years, locations from cellular phones are still generally unreliable, and vary widely from call to call,” Abes said. “This next generation 911 system uses location services from rapid SOS to use a cellular phone’s GPS signal to pinpoint the location of a caller.”

Abes compared the new technology to that used on iPhone and Android devices when using mapping applications, and said it’s generally accurate between 10 to 20 feet.

“Our team at Lee Control has been using the system for the last week, and has seen multiple examples where this information has helped speed our response to an emergency,” Abes said.

The technology will be implemented throughout local law enforcement entities over the next several weeks, Abes said. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office started converting Wednesday morning, and will be followed by the Cape Coral Police Department next week, Fort Myers Police Department, and then Sanibel Police Department.

“This next generation 911 system will not only improve how emergency calls are handled in Lee County, but will enable our call-takers and responders to get help to where it is needed when it matters the most,” Abes said.

District 4 Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman said the day was for the people of Lee County.

“This is a day about you, and a day where we’re making it very clear we care about your safety,” Hamman said. “If I put myself in your shoes, I know that you want to know, that when you call 911, you’re going to get someone to answer. I know that you want to know that when you call 911, you’ll have all the tools available — like being able to text or send pictures or videos. We made a commitment to make sure you have those tools.”

The Lee Board of County Commissioners has invested $35 million in public safety technology infrastructure.

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