Carbon County is looking toward the future of its 911 system.

On Thursday, the commissioners approved two motions that start three state-funded projects at the 911 communications center. The estimated cost for the three projects, which will be paid for through the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency's Act 12 Interconnectivity Funding, is $953,813.25.Gary Williams, 911 director, said that the three projects will provide a regionalized network between various other counties that will help better serve residents and visitors in need.The computer-aided dispatching upgrade will cost $333,810. It will consist of Tyler Technologies installing new software, implementation services and third party products and services. The current dispatching system Carbon County is using was implemented in 1994.It will also connect Carbon County with Monroe and Lackawanna counties as part of the regionalization project.Once completed, which is anticipated to be June 2018, it will provide dispatchers with a number of features that will allow for quicker responses and improved safety for the first responders.The other two projects, which will be completed by TuWay Communications, include regional deployment of a new phone switch system and an Emergency Services IP Network at a cost of $620,000.25.Williams said these two additional projects will connect Carbon with Monroe, Pike, Wayne, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Schuylkill and Lackawanna counties, bringing the region into compliance with PEMA's priority to establish statewide connectivity."The addition of the seamless 911 call routing paves the way for any county 911 center on the system to back up the call-taking of the other in case we or any other goes down, we always have a backup," he said.The time frame for these projects, Williams said, is mid-2018.