August 15, 2023
To the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
On behalf of the State 911 Department (Department), I am pleased to issue our Annual
Report for Calendar Year 2022. The last Annual Report for Calendar Year 2018 was submitted on
September 19, 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department did not submit an Annual
Report. However, for each fiscal year in that time period between April 2020 and May 2023, the
Department did file a report to the Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC) on the
financial condition of the enhanced 911 fund in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws,
Chapter 6A, Section 18H(b). These reports detailed Department programs and projects for each
fiscal year in that period. Each of those reports and the DTC Order on those reports can be found
by clicking on to the links contained in footnote 1 below.1 This Annual Report contains an overview
of the enhanced 911 program, specific information about agency activities for Calendar Year 2022,
and a grant expenditure report by community for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022.2
1
FY19: https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-19-2-state-911-department-petition/download;
https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-19-2-state-911-department-final-order/download
FY 20: https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-20-1-state-911-department-petition/download;
https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-20-1-final-order/download
FY21: https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-21-3-state-911-department-petition/download;
https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-21-3-final-order/download
FY22:https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-22-1-state-911-department-petition/download;
https://www.mass.gov/doc/dtc-22-1-state-911-dept-final-order/download
2
The three-year expenditure report for FY 2021 was due last year. The Department has included
that report here as well as one for FY 2022.
 On July 31, 2008, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed into law Chapter 223 of
the Acts of 2008 (or Chapter 223) that, amongst other things, changed the name and organizational
structure of the agency, which from 1991 up to that date had been known as the Statewide
Emergency Telecommunications Board (SETB). In its place, Chapter 223 created the Department
and the State 911 Commission.
The Department is within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) and
has the authority and responsibility to direct the day-to-day administration of the statewide enhanced
911 system. It has its own budgetary authority. The Department and its programs and projects are
funded solely through a monthly surcharge imposed on any device that can access the 911 system.
The monthly surcharge for 2022 was $1.50.
The Massachusetts statewide enhanced 911 system is one of the largest systems per capita in
the United States. A person dialing 911 from anywhere in the Commonwealth is automatically
connected to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) handling emergencies in that area. The
system provides the phone number and address of the telephone used to make the emergency call
(wireline calls) or the phone number and approximate location of the caller (wireless calls), along
with dispatching data for local police, fire and ambulance services. PSAP personnel dispatch, either
directly or indirectly, emergency response services based upon the needs of the caller. The Next
Generation 911 (NG911) system in the Commonwealth was enhanced to now provide text to 911
communication for its citizens and visitors.
The State 911 Commission, also within EOPSS, consists of 22 members and is charged with
providing strategic oversight and guidance to the Department, and in all matters regarding
enhanced 911 service.3 The State 911 Commission is also charged with approving all formulas,
percentages, guidelines, or other mechanisms used to distribute grants, all major contracts that the
Department proposes to enter into for enhanced 911 services, and all regulations and standards
proposed by the Department.
Chapter 223 directed the Department to review and assess new communications
technologies that may include, but are not limited to, wireless, video, broadband, and IP enabled
applications that may serve as the NG911 technology platforms, consistent with Federal
Communications Commission decisions and federal law. In August 2014, the Department entered
into a contract with General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. (GDIT) to provide a
comprehensive, end-to-end, fully featured, standards based NG911 system to replace the previous
enhanced 911 system. Calendar year 2018 was the first full year that this new NG911 system was
deployed and operating. In December 2018, the NG911 system began to provide texting to 911
without picture and video. In 2019, the contract for the provision of the NG911 system was
assigned from GDIT to Comtech. That contract remains in effect through August 3, 2024. The
NG911 system in place in Massachusetts is the largest i3 end-to-end fully integrated next generation
core service (NGCS), ESinet, logging and recording, and hosted call handling system in the United
3 Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022 added three new members to the State 911 Commission; the
Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health; a representative of the Association for
Behavioral Healthcare, Inc, with experience delivering psychiatric emergency services; and an
individual with lived experience with behavioral health conditions and interactions with police.
2
States. Massachusetts has among the most PSAPS per capita and area, which makes it one of the
largest and most complex NG911 systems in the country.
Chapter 223 also directed the Department to undertake a 911 regionalization effort through
an incentive grant program. Pursuant to that Chapter, the Department continues its regionalization
efforts to reduce the number of PSAPs in the Commonwealth and enhance public safety. In
calendar year 2022, the Department regionalized an additional two (2) PSAPs. This coupled with
the twenty-two (22) for calendar years 2019 – 2021 brings the total number of PSAPs regionalized to
twenty-four (24) since the last Annual Report filed for 2018.
In 2022 the Department, along with EOPSS and the Statewide Interoperability Coordinator,
endeavored to implement a telecommunicator emergency response taskforce (TERT) in
Massachusetts. The TERT program is designed to support PSAPs requiring assistance. TERT was
implemented in the Commonwealth on December 1, 2022.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 the Department took action to ensure that
PSAPs continued staffing with certified telecommunicators. The Department provided PSAPs with
financial assistance and made personal protection equipment available upon request. In addition, all
PSAPs were asked to identify in-house trainers and were then provided with training materials and
instructions in order to certify new 911 telecommunicators in-house in order to ensure that PSAPs
were properly staffed, and 911 calls were answered. In September 2020, the Department began
providing all of our training certifications virtually with Department trainers presenting on a live
virtual platform. The virtual training continued until October 2021.
Finally, the Department expresses much gratitude and appreciation to all PSAPs and their
telecommunicators in the Commonwealth for their efforts and commitment during the COVID-19
pandemic. All stayed in operation during this trying period, with some who experienced a COVID-
19 exposure, requiring their calls to be transferred to an alternate PSAP until they could get back to
business safely. The Department, and the citizens and visitors of the Commonwealth thank you!
Sincerely,
FRANK POZNIAK
Executive Director
3
The 2022 State 911 Commission members were:
Terrence Reidy – Chairman
Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Designee: Kerry Collins
Undersecretary for Forensic Sciences and Technology, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Curtis M. Wood, Secretary
Executive Office of Technology and Technical Services
Designee: Matt Moran, Assistant Secretary
Christopher Mason, Colonel
Department of State Police
Designee: Matt Barstow, Director of Communications
Peter Ostroskey State Fire Marshal
Department of Fire Services
Designee: David Clemons, Director of Operations
Michael Cox, Police Commissioner
Boston Police Department
Designees: Carman Curry, Deputy Superintendent
Christopher Markunas, Director of Quality Assurance Dispatch Operations
Shawn Romanoski, Director of Communications
Mary McCauley, Director
Massachusetts Office on Disability
Designee: Jeffrey Dougan/Evan George, Supervisors
Monica Bharel, Commissioner
Department of Public Health
Designees: Scott Cluett, Director, Office of Emergency Medical Services
Jennifer Barrelle, Chief of Staff
Opeoluma Sotonwa, Commissioner
Massachusetts Commission for Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Designee: Jonathon O’Dell, Assistive Technology Manager
Brooke Doyle, Commissioner
Department of Mental Health
Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater Police Chief
Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association
Michael Murphy, Lieutenant, Brookline Police Department
Massachusetts Police Association
4
Kyle Heagney, Attleboro Police Chief
Massachusetts Major City Police Chiefs Association
Timothy Bradshaw, Taunton Fire Chief
Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Association
Michael Kelleher, Foxborough Police Chief
Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Association
Ralph Dowling, Captain, Boston Fire Department
Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts
James Cummings, Barnstable County Sheriff
Massachusetts Sheriffs Association
James Boudreau, Scituate Town Manager
Massachusetts Municipal Association
Richard Patterson, Dracut Deputy Fire Chief
Massachusetts Emergency Medical Care Advisory Board
Stacey Harren
Massachusetts Ambulance Association
Steven Hooke, Holbrook Emergency Management Director (Vice-Chair)
Massachusetts Communications Supervisors Association
Vacant
Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
Vacant
Individual Experienced with Behavioral Heath Conditions and Interactions with Police
2022 State 911 Department Employees:
The total number of Department employees at the end of calendar year was 111. The Department
managers are as follow:
Frank Pozniak (Executive Director)
Normand Fournier II (Deputy Executive Director)
Dennis Kirwan (General Counsel)
Karen Robitaille (Fiscal Division Director)
Shahri Moin (911 Systems Division Director)
Monna Wallace (Programs Division Director)
Joseph Crean (Director of Special Projects)
Ana Alves (Human Resources Manager)
Alyson Dell Isola, (PSAP Operations Division Director)
Kristina Morin (Deputy Director, PSAP Operations-Framingham)
5
Christopher Ryan (Deputy Director, PSAP Operations-North Shore Regional 911 Center)
Lee Delp (Operations Manager, PSAP Operations-North Shore Regional 911 Center)
6
OVERVIEW
Since 1991, the SETB, and now the Department, has implemented and managed wireline
and wireless enhanced 911 service for all 351 municipalities in the Commonwealth. These services
are provided through PSAPs, which by the end of 2022 totaled 212 in the Commonwealth. The
Department directly provides network, database, customer premises equipment (CPE), maintenance,
training and support services, and grant funding to these PSAPs.
The Department has established technical and operational standards to ensure accurate and
timely responses to enhanced 911 calls. In 2022, the Department initiated an effort to revise such
standards and has trained thousands of dispatchers and call-takers in the nationally accepted method
of answering enhanced 911 calls. In late 2006, the PSAP training grant was established to reimburse
PSAPs for a portion of their training costs. The Department utilized this grant to provide up to date
training in 2022. In 2008, pursuant to Chapter 223 of the Acts of that year, the Department
expanded its grant programs to provide personnel and equipment support to PSAPs across the
Commonwealth, and to encourage regionalization of the PSAPs.
Finally, the Department continued with the administration of the Disability Access Program
that provides telecommunication relay service, captioned telephone relay service, and specialized
customer premises equipment distribution service to persons with disabilities in the Commonwealth.
FUNDING
The Department’s budget in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) was
funded from the Enhanced 911 Fund, which was established by Chapter 223 of the Acts of 2008.
This Fund was supported by a monthly surcharge of $1.50 assessed on subscribers of wireline,
wireless service, including pre-paid wireless, VoIP, and any other device that can access the 911
system.
The Department’s total actual budget for FY 2022 ($134,052,606) funded the administrative
costs of the agency ($6,932,743); grant programs ($77,893,062); 9-1-1 administration & operation
($47,810,392); and other programs ($1,416,409).4
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The following outlines the major accomplishments in Calendar Year 2022.
Next Generation 911 (NG911)
On August 4, 2014, the Department entered into a contract with GDIT to provide a
comprehensive, end-to-end, fully featured, standards based NG911 system to replace the previous
enhanced 911 system. The transition to the new NG 911 system was completed in December 2017
and was fully operational in 2018. The NG911 contract was assigned to Comtech in 2019.
4 The budgets for FY 2019-FY 2022 can be found in the links provided in Footnote 1.
7
 The previous enhanced 911 system was an analog-based system that was designed in the
1960s. The system has been successful in delivering 911 services for many years. However, the types
of analog services that are imbedded in that system are becoming obsolete and are being
discontinued throughout the country. Technological advancements have created the necessity for a
more advanced system that will offer capabilities (e.g., text and video messaging) that simply did not
exist using that enhanced 911 system. Throughout the nation, enhanced 911 systems are being
overhauled and replaced with new and emerging technologies. This need was recognized by the
Legislature with the passage of Chapter 223 of the Acts of 2008, and, therefore, in accordance with
this law, it was necessary to replace the previous enhanced 911 system with one that uses advanced
communications technologies in the infrastructure itself.
The benefits of a NG911 system are significant given the additional information capabilities
inherent to NG911. Using NG911 will ultimately allow for additional data to be sent with the voice
call, including telematics crash data, text to 911 with or without picture and video, medical records
of the caller, etc. In fact, in December 2018, texting to 911 without picture and video became
available in the Commonwealth. Text to 911 is a critical need for the deaf, hard of hearing and
speech impaired. Previously, the only way for those constituents to contact 911 directly was by
using a teletypewriter (TTY) device. TTY is an archaic means of communication and has mostly
been abandoned in exchange for using text to communicate. Texting will also allow for
communication with a PSAP in a situation where the person is fearful for his or her life but is
unable to convey that information verbally (e.g., active shooter, domestic violence, home invasion,
etc.).
Improved PSAP capabilities allow for more efficient PSAP management. For instance, with
NG911, a PSAP may send telecommunicators to neighboring PSAPs during a major event for call
overflow management. Simply by logging into a position at a different PSAP, that call taker can
receive calls destined for his or her home PSAP without any intervention by the 911 service provider
or the Department. By logging in remotely, the PSAP is creating a larger virtual PSAP during a crisis.
In addition, because the NG911 system is IP based, it allows for faster call setup time reducing the
time it takes for a 911 call to start ringing at the PSAP, and remote monitoring capabilities give the
Department greater system management capabilities.
The telecommunicators at the PSAPs benefit from a much-enhanced mapping system that
not only provides property parcel data information to pinpoint the location of a caller, but also
shows roof outlines of structures on the property. A secondary tab on the mapping system gives the
telecommunicators an aerial view providing information regarding obstacles or hazards in the area.
The reporting capabilities are greatly enhanced with the NG911 system.
The current NG911 contract with Comtech expires on August 3, 2024. In 2022, the
Department began the request for proposal process to ensure that a NG911 service provider is in
place beyond August 3, 2024.
8
 Wireless Direct
Eliminating unnecessary transfers provides faster reponse times to those in need. The goal
of wireless direct is to route wireless 911 calls to the appropriate PSAP that will dispatch the
appropriate emergency services. By routing 911 calls to the PSAP that will dispatch emergency
services instead of a “middle man”, precious seconds are eliminated from response times, which can
be directly connected to saving lives, improving outcomes for emergencies and reducing loss of
property. A further benefit is reducing the frustration experiencd when a person calling for an
emergency has to tell the same information to multiple agencies before help can be sent. By 2022,
all PSAPs in the Commonwealth were taking wireless 911 calls direc