On Tuesday September 26th, Guilford Metro 9-1-1 deployed the first Positron "Voice-over-IP for Emergency Response" (VIPER) system in North Carolina. Guilford has been a Positron customer for over ten years, and handles over 1000, 9-1-1 calls per day and supporting multiple Fire, Police and EMS agencies. This revolutionary deployment was closely backed up by top-level Positron professional services, including project management, engineering, and training. The common goal was to ensure a smooth migration, fully protecting the counties previous investment in Positron. The Positron VIPER system shall provide for 20 call taking positions at Guilford. The County has future plans to purchase a 2nd VIPER system to provide VoIP functionality for their backup center by mid 2007. Positron VIPER is based on the use of the non-proprietary Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for the delivery of voice services, reflecting Positron's commitment to developing solutions that provide the most flexible offering from a technical and cost effective standpoint. Positron VIPER addresses customers' demands for a scalable solution that allows them to move easily and efficiently onto a single physical network by integrating data, voice, and future video/wireless traffic while at the same time benefiting from next generation PBX services. The use of IP as the unique protocol for the transmission of voice and data greatly simplifies the task of deploying remote positions and sites. With the backroom components and possibly the application servers installed at a central location (a Primary PSAP, a Communication Center or even the Central Office), a single data connection is all that would be required to deploy fully-functional IWS positions. Using routers and Ethernet switches that support QoS and Positron Power 911's profile capabilities, remote sites can access specific 9-1-1 trunks and/or Admin lines to provide emergency call handling services. In addition, IP Phones can be deployed across the data network to provide administrative phone extensions in an extremely cost effective manner. Positron VIPER provides an unprecedented return on investment for new and existing users of Positron solutions. Starting with a lower part count than traditional CPE, Positron VIPER delivers a system that is easier to install, easier to configure, easier to maintain while still delivering the richest VoIP experience available for Public Safety. From a service and maintenance perspective, the deployment of backroom components at a central location greatly reduces the number of devices located at remote sites and dramatically reduces the necessity of dispatching technicians on site. Immediate benefits are cost savings and increased quality of service to the PSAPs and thus, to the public. Wesley Reid, the Executive Director of the Guilford Metro, NC PSAP made the following announcement shortly after the smooth cutover. "Since many of you have been following our saga of consolidation in Greensboro/Guilford and have shared our pain, I wanted to share a bit of good news in the midst of our ongoing challenges. "The City of Greensboro and County of Guilford are proud to announce that through a partnership with Embarq and Positron, on Tuesday, September 26th Guilford Metro 9-1-1 deployed the very first Positron 'Voice-over-IP for Emergency Response' (VIPER) system in North Carolina. This new system replaced a Positron Life Line 100 system that had been in place for more than a decade and includes 20 new Power 9-1-1 call taker work stations, as well as 2 work stations of Power MIS and e-Printer". Positron VIPER continues Positron's tradition of innovation and our commitment to giving public safety agencies such as Guilford Metro 9-1-1 the Power to Respond™.