Alcatel announced that it has added enhanced 911 (E911) capabilities to its OmniPCX Enterprise communications server with the help of XTEND Communications Corp. The new solution will help businesses reach state and ultimately federal compliance of E911. The two companies, who have previously worked together to deliver user centric IP applications for various vertical enterprises, including k-12 education and healthcare, are continuing with the latest in regulation requirements for emergency service dialing capabilities via voice over IP (VoIP) technologies.

The Alcatel and XTEND partnership introduces the XTEND EADM Basic E911 server. EADM is a PC-based, integrated solution operating with Alcatel's OmniPCX Enterprise and the OmniVista 4760 Network Management for Enterprise IP Telephony systems. At its most basic level, EADM provides the conduit for sending the subscriber information (ELIN/ERL) to the 911-service provider's automatic location information (ALI) database. The solution also includes unique features and capabilities such as end-point location tracking and automatic location information database, multiple on-site event notification methods, real-time audio recording of 911 calls in progress, and Video monitoring through the Alcatel's phone XML-enabled display. In addition, the system can accommodate both single and multi-site PCX Enterprise configurations, which is ideal for school districts, healthcare provider networks, financial institutions and others.

"Both XTEND and Alcatel are actively involved with the groups which create the compliance guidelines for enhanced 911 communications," said Phil Menico, CTO at XTEND Communications. "We are seeing many customers eager to meet today's requirements for E911. Whether they are retrofitting their telephone network or deploying a new one, this solution has proven reliability and advanced functionality which undoubtedly improve safety and security where deployed."

"Enterprises and businesses of all sizes are concerned with the requirements for E911 and want a future-proof, mission-critical application that will affectively meet those requirements," said David Dwyer, general manager in North America for Voice Enterprise activities at Alcatel. "Together, Alcatel and XTEND have worked to integrate and deliver additional features, such as notification alerts and screen pops, to make this E911 solution a fully compliant and full-featured E911 solution."

Dr. Phil Brody, CTO at Clark County School District in Las Vegas, NV commented, "As the fifth largest school district in the country, E911 has a significant role to play the safety of approximately 300,000 students located in more than 300 different schools. We are confident that the Alcatel/XTEND solution meets our current and future requirements."

The announcement is being made at the APCO conference taking place this week in Orlando, FL.