California's 911 Upgrade: History and Current Status

California
Written By Don Bradford
California's 911 Upgrade: History and Current Status
Executive Summary: California's ambitious $450+ million NG911 modernization effort has stalled dramatically. After spending five years and billions in infrastructure investments, the state paused rollout in late 2024 due to critical operational failures and has now completely scrapped its regional design approach. The system is not operational, has failed to meet design goals, exceeded cost targets massively, and shifted to a new statewide approach with projected completion in 2030—eight years behind the original target.

History and Current Status

The Initial Vision (2019–2024)

In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom pledged to modernize California's "antiquated" 50-year-old 911 system, which connects approximately 447 dispatch centers statewide. The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) adopted a unique regional approach that no other state had implemented, dividing California into four sectors with separate vendors:

  • NGA 911: Los Angeles and central California regions ($104 million)
  • Synergem Technologies: Northern California ($59 million)
  • Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink): Southern California
  • Atos Public Safety: Statewide "prime" provider (largest contract)

The intent was to prevent a single point of failure from causing statewide outages, with the prime provider serving as redundancy if regional systems failed.

Original Timeline vs. Reality

Cal OES anticipated completing the installation and transition by 2022 at the latest. However, the project faced immediate challenges. COVID-19 delays, supply chain disruptions, and the logistical complexity of installing new systems while maintaining emergency services pushed timelines back repeatedly.

Timeline Collapse: From a targeted 2022 completion to 2024 delays to now projected 2030 completion—a total delay of eight years from the original goal.

Operational Failures

By 2024, while infrastructure was installed at all dispatch centers, only 23 of 447 PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) began voice call migration before experiencing severe problems. The most alarming incident occurred in Tuolumne County—the first in California to go live with NG911 in November 2021—where residents experienced a 12-hour 911 outage, during which emergency calls couldn't connect.

Dispatchers reported calls being lost, misrouted, and experiencing busy signals. State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil questioned the system's reliability in January 2025, raising serious safety concerns.

Has the System Met Its Design Goals and Cost Targets?

Design Goals: Not Met

The system has failed to meet its core design objectives:

  • Reliability: The 12-hour Tuolumne County outage and other operational disruptions demonstrated the system was less reliable than the legacy infrastructure
  • Deployment timeline: Originally targeted for completion by end of 2022, later revised to end of 2024, now projected for 2030—an 8-year delay
  • Full transition: Only 5% of PSAPs (23 of 447) transitioned before rollout was halted

Partial Successes

The state did achieve some milestones:

  • Enhanced location services are operational statewide
  • Text-to-911 capability is available statewide
  • Network infrastructure installed at all 447 dispatch centers

Cost Targets: Massively Exceeded

Fiscal Disaster: Over $450 million spent between 2019 and fall 2025, with hundreds of millions more estimated for the redesigned approach. A vendor's chief operating officer estimated the change will cost taxpayers "hundreds of millions" in additional funds.

The original cost estimate was far exceeded, with no clear pathway to completion and mounting expenses for rework and redesign.

Current Operational Status

Current Status: Hybrid/Fragmented

California's 911 system is currently operating in a fragmented state:

  • The legacy system remains the primary infrastructure for most of the state
  • 23 PSAPs that migrated to NG911 are using the Atos system
  • Text-to-911 and enhanced location services function statewide across both legacy and NG911 systems
  • The state is not accepting new migrations to the regional system pending the new statewide procurement

The existing 50-year-old system continues to function but is increasingly unreliable, with the number of outages continuing to increase.

The New Plan

In November 2025, Cal OES announced it was scrapping the regional design entirely and adopting a conventional statewide approach similar to other states. The new plan includes:

  • Issuing requests for proposals in early 2026 for just two contractors: one primary provider and one backup
  • New completion target: 2030
  • California will continue relying on the legacy system until the new statewide system is rolled out

San Joaquin County and Lodi

Research into San Joaquin County and Lodi's specific participation in California's NG911 rollout revealed limited formal information, indicating these areas remain primarily on legacy systems.

Current Status for the Region

Limited NG911 Information

Research revealed no specific information about San Joaquin County or Lodi's participation in California's NG911 rollout. Key findings include:

  • San Joaquin County launched a "NEXGEN 311" non-emergency service request system in August 2025, but this is unrelated to 911 services
  • South San Joaquin County Fire Authority emergency calls are dispatched through Stockton Fire Department's Communication Center
  • Lodi Fire Department launched Advanced Life Support (ALS) services in 2025, but no mention of NG911 capabilities
  • San Joaquin County has an Emergency Operations Plan and uses the SJReady emergency notification system, but these are separate from 911 modernization

Given that only 23 of California's 447 PSAPs transitioned to NG911 before the pause, and most were rural counties, it is likely that San Joaquin County and Lodi remain on the legacy 911 system and are awaiting the new statewide rollout scheduled for completion by 2030.

Comparison to Other Large States

California's NG911 implementation compares poorly to other large states. The following analysis shows how Texas, New York, and Florida have approached Next Generation 911 with varying degrees of success.

State-by-State Comparison Chart

Texas: Methodical Regional Progress

PROGRESSING Status: Substantially more advanced than California

  • Set a target of September 1, 2025 for all parts of the state to be covered by NG911
  • Utilizes a regional approach through established Regional Planning Commissions, which has proven more successful than California's model
  • Multiple regions have completed or are near completion:
    • Gulf Coast Regional 9-1-1 Emergency Communications District fully deployed NG911 as of May 2025
    • North Central Texas (13 counties, 40+ Emergency Communications Centers) is in advanced stages of NG911 integration
    • El Paso County modernized its system in 2025 with advanced features including AI-powered call bots
  • Decentralized but coordinated: The Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC) provides oversight while individual districts and regional councils manage implementation

Key Difference: Texas leveraged existing regional governance structures rather than creating entirely new vendor regions, leading to better coordination and accountability.

New York: Severely Delayed

DELAYED Status: Behind California in overall progress

  • A June 2025 state comptroller audit found New York is "years away" from full NG911 implementation
  • The State 911 Plan was in draft stage for 7 years (since 2018), only finalized in April 2025
  • 61% of counties surveyed reported receiving no guidance from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) on NG911 transition
  • New York City (which operates independently) has nearly completed its NG911 transition, handling 9 million calls annually
  • Governor Hochul allocated $85 million in September 2025 to 57 counties (outside NYC) for NG911 equipment, with each county receiving at least $1 million
  • Total state investment: Over $500 million since 2010 for 911 modernization

Key Issues: Lack of coordination, poor communication between state and counties, and prolonged planning delays have left New York's counties in limbo.

Florida: Successful County-by-County Approach

MOST SUCCESSFUL Status: Most advanced among comparison states

  • 42 of 67 counties are live with NG911 systems
  • 24 counties are in the implementation stage
  • Florida adopted a county-based approach rather than statewide or regional mandates, allowing local flexibility

Success Stories:

  • Collier County: Operates "one of the most advanced high-tech emergency 911 communication systems in the country" with full NG911 capabilities including text, video, and data sharing
  • Charlotte County: Implemented NG911 network-based approach as early as 2018–2021, receiving national recognition
  • Leon County: Selected vendor in 2025 for $4 million NG911 system deployment

Governance: The Florida Emergency Communications Board coordinates county efforts, provides grant funding, and oversees text-to-911 reimbursements, but allows counties to move at their own pace.

Key Advantage: Florida's decentralized approach allows innovative counties to lead while providing support to less-resourced areas, avoiding the all-or-nothing failures seen in California.

NG911 Implementation Status Over Time

Cost and Timeline Comparison

Comparative Summary Table

State Population (approx) 911 Centers (PSAPs) NG911 Status Est. Cost Timeline Success Rating
California 39 million 447 Only 23 PSAPs migrated; project scrapped and restarting $450M+ spent, hundreds of millions more needed 2030 target (8 years delayed) FAILED
Texas 30 million 200+ Multiple regions completed; approaching full deployment Distributed through regional districts Sept 2025 target PROGRESSING
New York 19 million 200+ (excl. NYC) Years away; most counties not started $500M+ since 2010; $85M allocated 2025 No clear timeline DELAYED
Florida 22 million 258 PSAPs in 67 counties 42 counties live, 24 implementing County-funded with state grants Ongoing county-by-county MOST SUCCESSFUL

Why California Failed While Others Progressed

California's Fatal Flaws

  • Untested regional design: Created an approach no other state had tried, with four vendors that had to coordinate with each other
  • Vendor dependency: The regional design forced vendors to depend on each other to resolve issues, delaying problem resolution
  • Overly aggressive timeline: Attempting completion by 2022 while implementing a complex, untested approach
  • Inadequate testing: Rushed deployment to rural counties revealed fundamental problems too late

Florida's Success Factors

  • Proven county-by-county approach: Allowed leaders to innovate while laggards learned from others
  • Local control with state support: Counties chose their own vendors and timelines with state oversight and funding
  • Flexible funding: State grants supplemented local resources without mandating one-size-fits-all solutions

Texas's Pragmatic Model

  • Leveraged existing structures: Used established regional councils rather than creating new governance
  • State coordination with local implementation: CSEC provided oversight while regions maintained operational control
  • Realistic timelines: Set 2025 target after years of gradual progress

New York's Cautionary Tale

  • Planning paralysis: Seven years to finalize a state plan
  • Poor state-county communication: Most counties received no implementation guidance
  • Centralized control without execution: State attempted to control process without providing resources or direction

Conclusion

California's $450 million NG911 upgrade stands as one of the most expensive and comprehensive technology failures in state emergency services history. Despite achieving some infrastructure milestones, the system has not met its design goals, wildly exceeded cost targets, and is not fully operational. Only 5% of dispatch centers transitioned before the system was deemed unreliable and scrapped.

The state now faces starting over with a conventional statewide approach, potentially costing hundreds of millions more and delaying full implementation until 2030—eight years behind the original target. For San Joaquin County and Lodi, this means continued reliance on aging 911 infrastructure with no clear timeline for modernization.

Compared to other large states, California's experience is particularly troubling. Florida leads with 63% of counties live or implementing NG911 through a flexible county-based approach. Texas is progressing steadily toward its 2025 completion target using regional coordination. Even New York, despite being years behind schedule, has a clearer path forward after allocating $85 million in dedicated county funding.

California's failure demonstrates that technological ambition without proven implementation strategies can produce worse outcomes than maintaining older systems. As the state restarts its NG911 effort in 2026, the lessons from Florida's county-led success and Texas's regional coordination should guide a more pragmatic approach.

References

Don Bradford
Previous

Lodi Parks & Recreation Commission - December 2, 2025
Next

Lodi City Council Meeting - December 3, 2025