The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) extended the deadline to implement next-generation 911 (NG911) in Canada by two years.

The commission had initially set a deadline of March 4, 2025, to implement NG911, but in a decision published on Feb. 28, it extended the deadline to March 31, 2027. However, it’s not because of telecoms — the CRTC said that telecommunications providers have “made the necessary upgrades” and are ready to switch to NG911.

“However, the Commission has heard that most provincial, territorial, and municipal emergency service organizations will not be able to make the necessary upgrades in time,” the CRTC explained in the decision.

“Accordingly, a majority of interveners in this proceeding have asked the Commission to extend the deadline to transition to NG9-1-1. These interveners include key 9-1-1 stakeholders, such as the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada.”

The CRTC said that if the deadline wasn’t extended, Canadians in areas that haven’t transitioned to NG911 could lose access to 911 services, creating an “unacceptable risk to public safety.”

NG911 is an improved version of the emergency calling service with built-in internet protocol (IP) capabilities that will allow Canadians and first responders to access new tools for better, faster communications in emergencies. For example, NG911 will add support for real-time text (RTT) to send text messages to 911 call centres in addition to voice calls.

To make the switch, public safety answer points (PSAPs) need to upgrade equipment to be compatible with NG911. These upgrades must either happen all at once or over a period of time using “translator” gateways to convert 911 traffic between the different technologies. The original CRTC decision also required that 911 network providers decommission older parts of the network that won’t form part of the NG911 service.

In its decision, the CRTC acknowledged the importance of moving to NG911, and that extending the deadline means Canadians will face a longer wait. It also admitted that telecom providers will incur additional expenses for continuing to operate NG911 and existing 911 services until the new deadline.