A major contractor hired to help upgrade California’s 911 emergency calling system is being fired, the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) posted online late Friday. For the past 16 months, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has been exclusively reporting on issues with technolog y from that contractor NGA 911 that included 911 outages and dropped and misrouted calls in regions across California. NGA insiders told us the company’s technology failed certification tests, but project leaders deployed it anyway, putting the public at risk. On March 11, Cal OES published a series of documents on its website verifying many of NBC Bay Area’s findings, adding more details. The documents include this letter to NGA saying it’s terminating its Next Generation 911 contract with the company effective April 10, 2026. Cal OES wrote, “NGA has been paid more than $110 million by Californians…[and] they continue to get paid to this day, even though the company is no longer providing network services in their contracted regions due to deep-seated technical issues…” The state agency added, “NGA has insisted upon receiving full monthly payments…[and] now publicly claims that the [original] regional approach to 911 should be preserved, not because it is what is best for Californians, but because NGA continues to get paid.” “It’s no wonder NGA want to continue to delay the transition,” Cal OES wrote. NGA’s CEO Don Ferguson sent the Investigative Unit an email saying, “The state’s recent communications about NG911 deployment will be addressed directly with policymakers, stakeholders, and the public, so the full factual record can be evaluated in context…Our focus remains where it has always been: delivering reliable Next Generation 911 infrastructure that supports first responders and protects Californians.” When asked why it took Cal OES more than a year to cut ties with NGA after NBC Bay Area brought many of these issues to light, the agency responded in an email saying, “Issues with implementation of NG 9-1-1 were reported to Cal OES over time. Because the success of NG 9-1-1 is vital to the public safety of all Californians, Cal OES worked in good faith with the regional service providers to resolve issues. Once it was determined problems could not be resolved, the department halted further implementation and did a thorough evaluation which determined a change to a statewide system would be the best approach.” To watch all of the Investigative Unit’s reporting on California’s half a billion dollar Next Generation 911 project, go to: www.nbcbayarea.com/nextgen911. If you have a comment or question for the reporter on this story, Candice Nguyen, email her at [email protected]. California Nov 14, 2024 CA 911: Too Big to Fail Investigative Unit Feb 11 ‘Fix 911 Act' aims to restore accountability, transparency on CA's Next Gen 911 Investigation Feb 17 Assembly Republicans demand audit of California's $450M ‘Next Gen' 911 upgrade ...read more read less