By Ron Goodman

If you make a 911 emergency call from a land line telephone in any one of 29 states, that call will be controlled by systems developed and maintained by the SCC Communications Corporation located in Gunbarrel. 

SCC maintains 24 remote computers, which are connected by a fiber optic system, as well as satellites.These computers operate the 911 systems in 29 states.“They are all monitored and maintained by two large redundant computers, one here in Gunbarrel and the other in Texas,” Meer explained.“We have almost 300 people in Gunbarrel and a staff of 10 in Texas.”Physical maintenance of the remote computers is performed by local hardware providers.

When an operator answers a 911 call, the operator’s screen provides the caller’s location and the identity of the caller within one quarter of a second.The name of the appropriate responding agency is also provided.

The 911 system is moving rapidly into cellular systems, as required by new federal rules.Presently, cellular operators only have a voice connection; there is no location and no call-back number for the caller. 

“The Front Range is a leader in improving the cellular 911 system,” Meer said.“We are developing software so the operator will know which cellular tower the caller is using, [providing an approximate location], as well as the call-back number.”

Meer was born and raised in Denver and is a CU graduate.His wife and two children are also Colorado natives.They recently purchased a home in Niwot.“I love this small town,” he said.“I can do everything here. I just don’t want to drive to Boulder any more.” 

SCC started in July 1979 as the Service Corporation of Colorado.The founding partners were Stephen Meer and George Heinrichs, who is the present CEO.In 1993 the corporation moved to Delaware and was renamed the SCC Communications Corporation.It became a publicly held corporation in July 1998.

If you would like to learn more about SCC visit their web site at www.scc911.com