Emergency Services IP Network

A managed, multi-purpose, IP-based network designed to support the transmission of emergency communications — including voice calls, text messages, video, and data — between the public and emergency response agencies, and among emergency response agencies themselves. ESINet is the foundational networking infrastructure for Next Generation 911 (NG911), replacing the legacy circuit-switched phone network architecture that has underpinned 911 systems since the 1960s. An ESINet connects Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs — the dispatch centers that receive 911 calls) to each other and to emergency service providers, enabling call routing, data sharing, and interoperability across jurisdictional boundaries. ESINet implementation is funded in part through federal programs including the NG911 Grant Program administered by NTIA, and is a priority in the FCC's ongoing 911 modernization agenda. Oklahoma's RHTP investment in EMS centralization ($4.5 million) operates alongside — and is designed to integrate with — the state's ESINet modernization efforts.

ESINet is the emergency response infrastructure counterpart to the broadband and health data infrastructure that BEAD and RHTP are building — together, they form the complete communications backbone for a modernized rural public services ecosystem. The federal government's commitment to NG911 and ESINet modernization is codified in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, the National 911 Program's State 911 Plans, and ongoing NTIA grant programs. For telehealth infrastructure specifically, ESINet modernization matters in two ways. First, it enables 911 and 988 systems to receive text and video contacts — meaning a person in crisis who accesses a library Portal can initiate a multimedia emergency contact rather than a voice-only call, improving outcomes for individuals with hearing impairments, communication barriers, or situations where a voice call is unsafe. Second, ESINet's IP-based architecture creates the technical foundation for integrating emergency response data with health data systems — enabling paramedics, hospitals, and telehealth providers to share patient information in real time across the care continuum. For Ready.net, understanding ESINet is strategically important because Portal deployments in rural libraries are physical access points in the same communities that ESINet serves, and integration with 911 and 988 routing infrastructure strengthens the case for Portal networks as community safety infrastructure, not just healthcare infrastructure.