National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 Location Information Services

Background
The United States Army (USA) Base Emergency Communications System (BECS) program office is issuing this RFI as an informational document to engage with industry experts and explore innovative solutions for the implementation of National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 Location Information Services (LIS) within the USA fixed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enterprise environment. The primary purpose of this RFI is to elicit responses from vendors that will help us determine budgetary estimates and project timelines for implementing an advanced LIS solution. This RFI is not a formal solicitation for proposals or bids. This document serves as an invitation for vendors to share their insights, expertise, and proposed architectures that align with NENA i3 standards, the Department of Defense (DoD) Public Safety Communications (PSC), and the System Requirements Document (SRD). The USA encourages open collaboration and welcomes vendors to contribute their expertise, perspectives, and any alternative approaches they believe may align with the USA objectives provided herein.

Work Details
The requirement is to accompany the U.S. Army Program Executive Office Command Control Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T) Base Emergency Communications System (BECS) Program Office Location Information Services (LIS) Request for Information (RFI).

The Army currently employs legacy E9-1-1 capabilities that support Automatic Number Identification/Automatic Location Identification (ANI/ALI) functionality at 38 installations in the Continental United States (CONUS) that operate Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). The migration from legacy Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) phone systems to an enterprise VoIP architecture with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and softphone endpoints creates a challenge for legacy ANI/ALI functionality. Vendors are required to refer to the DoD PSC SRD for a full list of requirements including the NENA i3 Standard for HTTP-Enabled Location Delivery (HELD) and Presence Information Data Format - Location Object (PIDF-LO) protocols.

The LIS solution should integrate with existing IP networks, provide geodetic positioning within a Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, interact with Local Session Controllers, and accommodate scalability features for varying SIP endpoint bases across military installations. Additionally, proposed solutions must meet DoD Cybersecurity certification requirements. Vendors are also required to provide high-level implementation Plans of Action and Milestones outlining key milestones, timelines, resource requirements, system design and configuration specifics, integration with existing and future infrastructure, testing and quality assurance methodologies, training programs, deployment plans, monitoring and optimization strategies, project management and communication approaches. Vendors are encouraged to present innovative features and technologies, customization and flexibility options, as well as a roadmap for future enhancements related to their proposed LIS solution.