A laborious negotiating process has led to the approval of a contract between CenturyLink and the Marshall County government.
During Monday morning’s Marshall County Commissioners meeting, an E911 contract was reviewed. The county has been working with CenturyLink on a 24 month contract to help provide infrastructure for E911 services.
Sheriff’s Department Deputy Matt Pitney says the less they have to pay the company the better.
“Why are they charging us to provide 911 services to their customers, but with the way things currently stand, that’s about where we’re stuck,” says Pitney.
According to the discussion, CenturyLink was unable to concede much on the contract language.
The company is providing trunk lines and their digital facet helps manage 911 calls by providing the names and addresses of E911 callers. Marshall County made reference to a few of the problems they felt were present with the contract, including appeals to CenturyLink’s Terms and Conditions – which the Commissioners felt could change.
Pitney says 911 services are moving in one direction with Emergency Services Internet Network, or ESi-Net.
“ESi-Net will send it where it needs to go instead of us having to pay them to selectively route it and provide all these trunk lines. We’ll just have one connection,” says Pitney. “That’s the way it’s moving, but it’s at the speed of state.”
By approving the contract, Marshall County would save more than $2-thousand per month payable to CenturyLink.
The Commissioners approved the 24 month contract, unanimously.
