What DU-COMM does

DU-COMM (legally DuPage Public Safety Communications) is an intergovernmental public safety communications agency established in 1975 under Illinois statute 5 ILCS 220, headquartered at 420 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, Illinois. The agency operates a consolidated 24/7 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for DuPage County, providing 9-1-1 call-taking, text-to-911, and radio dispatch services to 45 member agencies — 23 police agencies and 22 fire/EMS agencies — and is described in source material as one of the largest consolidated 9-1-1 centers in Illinois. DU-COMM processes over one million phone calls and dispatches more than 700,000 police and Fire/EMS incidents annually, with 14–15 telecommunicators typically on duty at any given moment and a total of roughly 127 full-time plus 6 part-time staff.

The technology stack is anchored by a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) platform integrated with telephone systems, two-way radio networks, microwave transport, and mapping programs, with MABAS mutual-aid communication linking fire departments across Divisions 12 and 16. Service modules include Text-to-911 (compatible with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Dish Wireless), Smart911 voluntary safety-profile integration, the Premise Alert Program (PAP), and an on-site paid Telecommunicator Training Academy that certifies dispatchers in Call Taking, Police and Fire dispatch, Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD), LEADS, NIMS, and CPR. The Wheaton facility is described as state-of-the-art and houses administrative offices alongside dispatch operations.

DU-COMM does not charge citizens directly and does not levy taxes. Revenue is composed of member-municipality and Fire Protection District appropriations, recurring 9-1-1 surcharges collected on landline and wireless phone bills via the DuPage Emergency Telephone Board (ETSB), usage-based alarm monitoring fees, and recurring cell-tower lease income. Employees are classified as municipal employees under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, and governance is exercised through a Board of Directors drawn from member agencies, supported by Executive and Operations Committees. Strategic positioning emphasizes regulatory authority, consolidated scale, and 50 years of operational continuity in a single county rather than multi-county or commercial expansion.

Name

DU-COMM

Legal name

DuPage Public Safety Communications

Website

https://ducomm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DU-COMM (DuPage Public Safety Communications) is a 1975-founded intergovernmental agency operating a 24/7 consolidated 9-1-1 PSAP serving 45 police, fire, and EMS agencies across DuPage County, Illinois, processing over one million calls and dispatching 700,000+ incidents annually via CAD, Text-to-911, Smart911, and MABAS mutual-aid systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Safety Communications

NAICS

Police Protection (922120), Telephone Call Centers (56142), Fire Protection (92216)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Communications & Dispatch (911/112/999, PSAP) (BPAIAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Dispatch Center Services (PSAP/911 Support, Private Dispatch) (BPAKAFAJ), Dispatch, Communications & Medical Control Centers (PSAP/ECC) (HLAFANAK)

Keywords

• Emergency communications services
• 9-1-1 dispatch services
• Public safety answering point
• Computer-aided dispatch
• Mutual aid coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Wheaton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal and Fire District Funding: Primary operational funding comes from the municipalities and fire protection districts served by DU-COMM. DU-COMM does not levy taxes directly.
2. 9-1-1 Fees: Citizens pay 9-1-1 fees on landline and wireless phone bills, collected by the DuPage Emergency Telephone Board (ETSB) which supports DU-COMM and other PSAPs.
3. Alarm Monitoring Fees: DU-COMM receives fees for monitoring alarms from various alarm systems.
4. Cell Tower Lease Fees: Lease fees from various cell phone companies that lease space on DU-COMM's towers throughout DuPage County.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DU-COMM operates a consolidated 24/7/365 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that answers 9-1-1 emergency calls and dispatches police, fire, and EMS response for 45 member agencies throughout DuPage County, Illinois. The core offering combines emergency call taking, computer-aided dispatch, text-to-911 accessibility, and MABAS mutual aid radio coordination from a state-of-the-art facility, processing over 1 million phone calls and dispatching more than 700,000 incidents each year.

Product overview

DU-COMM is a public safety communications agency operating as a consolidated 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for DuPage County, Illinois. The organization provides an integrated emergency communications platform combining 9-1-1 call taking, police/fire/EMS dispatch, and text-to-911 capabilities. The core offering includes Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, Smart911 Safety Profile integration, and a Telecommunicator Training Academy. DU-COMM serves 45 member agencies (23 police, 22 fire) and processes over 1 million phone calls and dispatches over 700,000 incidents annually through its state-of-the-art facility in Wheaton.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 9-1-1 Emergency Call Taking and Dispatch Centralized 24/7/365 answering of 9-1-1 emergency voice calls and dispatch of police, fire, and EMS units for 45 member agencies across DuPage County, processing more than 1 million phone calls and dispatching over 700,000 incidents annually.
• Text-to-911 Emergency text messaging service providing an alternative to voice 9-1-1 calls for individuals unable to speak, including deaf and hard-of-hearing users, with compatibility across the four major wireless carriers serving DuPage County.
• Police Agency Dispatch Services Radio dispatch and Computer-Aided Dispatch support for 23 police agencies in DuPage County, providing unit tracking, incident management, and coordinated response across jurisdictions.
• Fire Agency Dispatch Services Radio dispatch, fire unit tracking, Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) protocol support, and MABAS mutual aid coordination for 22 fire agencies, including fire protection districts and municipal fire departments across DuPage County and MABAS Divisions 12 and 16.
• MABAS Mutual Aid Communications Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) communication and dispatch coordination for fire departments across MABAS Divisions 12 and 16, enabling coordinated multi-agency response to large-scale incidents.
• Smart911 Safety Profile Integration Citizen-facing safety profile service integration that allows DuPage County residents to register household, medical, vehicle, pet, and other details that automatically display to 9-1-1 call takers during an emergency call, including the Premise Alert Program for premises information.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processes over 1 million phone calls annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers45 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Smart911coreTechnology or IntegrationSmart911 is a safety profile registration service that allows citizens to create profiles containing critical information (family members, home, pets, vehicles) that automatically displays to 9-1-1 call takers during emergency calls. DU-COMM uses Smart911 as a valuable tool for enhanced emergency response.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational mental health crisis hotline partnered with 9-1-1 centers to provide accessible crisis support. DU-COMM promotes the 988 number as a complement to 9-1-1 for mental health-related distress situations.
• DuPage Emergency Telephone Board (ETSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment board that collects 9-1-1 fees from landline and wireless phone bills and distributes funding to support DU-COMM and other PSAPs in DuPage County.
• MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDU-COMM serves as the communications center for MABAS Divisions 12 and 16, providing coordinated mutual aid dispatch for fire departments across the region.
• NENA (National Emergency Number Association)minorOthersIndustry association supporting 9-1-1 systems and emergency communications. DU-COMM is a member of NENA for standards and best practices alignment.
• APCO InternationalminorOthersPublic safety communications association providing training, certification, and standards. DU-COMM maintains membership for professional development and standards compliance.
• IAED (International Academies of Emergency Dispatch)minorOthersOrganization establishing standards for emergency dispatch protocols including EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatch), EFD (Emergency Fire Dispatch), and police dispatch. DU-COMM uses IAED protocols for dispatcher certification.
• NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)minorOthersNonprofit organization supporting missing children's cases. DU-COMM participates in NCMEC programs as part of public safety mission.
• ILEAS (Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System)minorOthersIllinois mutual aid system for law enforcement. DU-COMM supports regional emergency response coordination.
• MERIT (Mutual Aid Radio Interoperability)minorOthersIllinois emergency communications interoperability system. DU-COMM participates in MERIT for enhanced radio communication capabilities across agencies.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• FoxComm (Fox Lake Communications Center): Suburban Illinois PSAP providing 9-1-1 dispatch services for police, fire, and EMS in the Fox Lake area — comparable in service scope but smaller in scale than DU-COMM.
• Naperville 9-1-1 / Public Safety Answering Point: Municipal 9-1-1 PSAP serving the City of Naperville (DuPage County), illustrating the in-house dispatch alternative that DU-COMM member agencies could potentially elect instead of consolidated service.

Others

• Priority Dispatch (IAED-licensed protocols): Provider of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) and Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) protocol software that DU-COMM's telecommunicators use — an enabling standards/protocol vendor rather than a direct operational peer.
• CentralSquare Technologies: Provider of public safety CAD, RMS, and 9-1-1 software used by PSAPs across the U.S. — a key ecosystem vendor whose Pro suite competes with Motorola in the same addressable market as DU-COMM's technology infrastructure.
• Motorola Solutions (CommandCentral / CAD): Dominant vendor of CAD, radio, and 9-1-1 software solutions for public safety agencies; a key technology supplier (not direct competitor) whose product roadmap shapes DU-COMM's technology stack and refresh cycles.

Direct peers

• Northwest Central Dispatch System (NWCDS): Consolidated 9-1-1 PSAP serving northwest suburban Chicago communities, operating under the same intergovernmental model as DU-COMM and providing identical police/fire/EMS dispatch, CAD, and radio services to a comparable suburban county footprint.
• SouthCom Dispatch Center: Consolidated PSAP serving south suburban Cook County municipalities with 9-1-1 call taking, CAD-based dispatch, and police/fire/EMS coordination — structurally similar to DU-COMM's intergovernmental delivery model.
• QuadCom: Kane County consolidated 9-1-1 PSAP serving multiple municipalities, providing comparable intergovernmental emergency communications services, CAD, and dispatch for police, fire, and EMS in a suburban Illinois county.
• Tri-Com Central Dispatch: Tri-community consolidated PSAP serving St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia in Kane County, Illinois — operates the same intergovernmental dispatch model with CAD, EMD, and radio dispatch for police, fire, and EMS.
• WESCOM (Will County 9-1-1): Consolidated emergency communications center serving Will County, Illinois — a directly comparable intergovernmental PSAP providing 9-1-1 call taking and police/fire/EMS dispatch to member agencies using CAD and radio networks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ducomm911
• Facebookfacebook.com/DUCOMM911
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/du-comm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DU-COMM