PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota 911 Coordination Board has posted two requests for vendors to submit proposals for providing equipment and services needed to modernize the 911 emergency calling system.

One proposal is for statewide emergency services to allow call access, transfers and backups among South Dakota's 911 dispatch centers. The second is for statewide Geographic Information System data and managed services to support the Next Generation 911 system.

911 Coordination Board Chairman Ted Rufledt Jr. says South Dakota's 911 system is based on decades-old technology, so dispatch centers are unable to take advantage of wireless and voice over internet protocol technology. Rufledt says the Next Generation 911 project will put in place the infrastructure needed to allow 911 centers to accept pictures, videos, text messages and other form of data.

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