Nicosia, Cyprus. Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou welcomed the signing of a contract between Civil Defence and the Cyprus telecommunications authority, Cyta, to deploy the Next Generation 112 emergency calling system across the island.
The system is expected to serve as the national emergency call receiving centre for all Republic response services.
Implementation timeline
Ioannou said the agreement provides for the rollout of the new technology over a period of 20 months.
Once implemented, the system will represent a further step towards more modern, effective and reliable emergency management, he said.
Emergency communications capabilities
According to the European Emergency Number Association, Next Generation 112 integrates new technologies into emergency services, allowing them to receive voice calls as well as location information, real-time text, photos, video calls and other data from people contacting emergency services.
The association said emergency services will need to upgrade their technology to accommodate internet-based communications in the coming years.
Access and response
The Next Generation 112 architecture enables the modernisation of emergency communications and allows for increased data collection, which is expected to support more efficient responses, the association said.
It added that the technology can help ensure equivalent access to emergency services, including for people with disabilities.