COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the coming years, more Ohio counties will be making the switch to a more precise and improved 911 calling system known as Next Generation 9-1-1.

What You Need To Know

  • Starting July 1, Ohio counties will have five years to migrate to a new 911 system

  • The system is known as Next Generation 911

  • It offers more precise location information, allows for texting and reduces call center transfers

  • Ten Ohio counties were considered pilot counties for the new technology

Earlier this year, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that 10 pilot counties were the first to start switching to the new system, which offers “advanced communication capabilities,” allowing for texting, reducing call center transfers and providing more precise location identification.

“Every second counts when we are talking about saving lives,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a January press release. “Next Generation 9-1-1 makes emergency services more efficient, especially in the rural areas of Ohio where it is critical to have strong and reliable communication infrastructure.”

In that same press release, it highlighted early data from Washington County. It states that 37% of calls between Dec. 18 and 22 were routed to the servicing location, “eliminating the need for call transfers.”

The ten pilot counties for this service, who are now using the new system, are:

  • Athens
  • Carroll
  • Champaign
  • Columbiana
  • Van Wert
  • Harrison
  • Monroe
  • Morgan
  • Union
  • Washington

The first counties to fully implement the new system were Washington and Monroe, according to the release.

“The DeWine Administration’s leadership was critical to getting this migration moving, and we’ve been incredibly pleased to work with our partners to start bringing Next Generation 9-1-1 to life in Ohio,” said Kathleen Madden, Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) director, in the release.

The release states that $46 million in funding for the new system comes from the state’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 operating budget.

Starting July 1, counties will have five years to migrate to this new system, DAS confirmed to Spectrum News in an email.