The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s N.C. 911 Board took home national honors this week when it was announced as the winner of the 2025 State IT Recognition Award from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) in the Information & Communications Technology category.
The award recognizes the state’s work to implement Next Generation 911 and ensure 911 calls are answered under any circumstances, regardless of the caller’s location or communication technology used. Completed in early 2024, this system proved vital last fall when Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina.
“Hurricane Helene was a true validation of the N.C. 911 Board’s investment in Next Generation 911,” said L.V. Pokey Harris, the board’s executive director. “It performed as designed throughout the storm so that all 911 calls were delivered, and callers received the help they desperately needed as circumstances allowed responders access to the impacted areas.”
Next Generation 911 technology connects all 124 public safety answering points, or PSAPs for short, that are funded by the N.C. 911 Board and answer 911 calls from their local communities. A central feature of Next Generation 911 is the ability to reroute calls from their local PSAP to other PSAPs across the system as needed. This is especially important during natural disasters and other situations that may result in a high volume of emergency calls.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, 19 PSAPs in western North Carolina rerouted 911 calls to 23 partner PSAPs across the state. From Sept. 26 through Sept. 28, 911 telecommunicators throughout the state answered a total of nearly 90,000 calls, a 55% increase in call volume over the same timeframe the previous year.
“I am very proud that the exceptional life-saving efforts of our N.C. 911 Board and our state’s PSAPs are receiving much-deserved national recognition,” said NCDIT Secretary Teena Piccione, who serves as chair of the N.C. 911 Board. “We will continue to focus on using technology to build a safer, stronger North Carolina.”
A second major deployment of Next Generation 911’s advanced capability occurred this past spring, when the first trial of geospatial 911 call routing for a special event was successfully conducted in Richmond County ahead of the NASCAR race at Rockingham Motor Speedway on April 18 and 19.
The technology allowed 911 calls made within the defined boundary of the event to be automatically routed to specifically assigned telecommunicators within the PSAP. This enabled telecommunicators to quickly identify and prioritize calls originating from within the event area and separate them from standard countywide 911 traffic.
The innovative solution helps efficiently handle emergency calls during mass events with potentially high call volumes and supports event-specific emergency response teams, including law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel on-site. Following the success of the geospatial call routing trial, other localities have asked the N.C. 911 Board to utilize this advanced capability for events in their area.
The N.C. 911 Board continues to expand the state's Next Generation 911 network and invest in updating 911 technology, paving the way for future advancements and innovations that will strengthen the state and enhance community safety.
“We’re very fortunate in North Carolina to have a very robust Next Generation 911 system in place,” said Tom Rogers, the N.C. 911 Board’s network engineer program manager. “We’re always looking for ways we can advance and enhance 911 service throughout our state.”
About the NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards
NASCIO’s annual State IT Recognition Awards honor transformational projects and initiatives that address critical business problems, improve business processes and elevate the citizen experience. For more information and to view all award winners, visit nascio.org/awards.
About the N.C. 911 Board
A unit of the N.C. Department of Information Technology, the N.C. 911 Board administers funding to 124 public safety answering points (PSAPs) across the state to create an enhanced statewide 911 system. PSAPs are operated by and under the jurisdiction of counties and other local government entities.
A single, statewide service charge per connection for any type of voice communication service provider goes to the 911 Fund, which the N.C. 911 Board manages and distributes to support the state’s PSAPs. NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Teena Piccione serves as the N.C. 911 Board's chair.
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