Emergency 911 technology struggles to keep up with the times
ROSWELL, Ga. — High school students hiding from the gunman in Parkland, Florida, were forced to whisper in calls to 911 for fear of tipping off their location. Others texted…
Comm Centers
Second Extinction Coming For Public Safety?
By Christopher Vondracek Steven Raucher, or “Steve from the Future,” as he has been known to refer to himself, is the co-founder of RapidDeploy, and a man determined to make a…
Text-to-911 now available across Iowa
The state is close to its goal of 100 percent availability of the service across all counties. SOURCE: Statescoop DATE: May 18, 2018 For Iowans who find themselves in an…
Minnesota starts regionally in pursuit of statewide text-to-911 implementation
By Dana Wahlberg Calling 911—for oneself, for a friend or relative, or even a complete stranger—is a highly traumatic experience, because it means that someone is having the worst day…
Federal Funding Bill Includes FCC Mandates Related to 9-1-1
SOURCE: Mission Critical Communications DATE: March 27, 2018 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 recently passed by Congress and signed by the president includes two 9-1-1-related mandates for the FCC.
Associations Urge Congressional Leadership to Fund NG 9-1-1 in Current Budget
SOURCE: Mission Critical Communications DATE: March 21, 2018 Four public-safety associations urged the leaders of the House and Senate to include a line item in…
RI blocked from federal grants in 911 fee diversion fallout
Regulators with the Federal Communications Commission said Rhode Island is one of several states now blocked from applying for some federal public safety grants due to its diversion of 911…
Public Safety Needs A Pitcher And Catcher: NG911 And FirstNet
BY DAVID G. SIMPSON Last month, FirstNet submitted its annual report to Congress and reported three major milestones. First, a competitive contract award for the network to AT&T; second, completion…
GAO Offers Recommendations to Aid NG 9-1-1 Implementation
SOURCE: Mission Critical Communications DATE: February 26, 2018 In speaking with state and local 9-1-1 agencies, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified…
FCC Commissioner O’Rielly calls on governors to provide 911-fee-diversion information
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly sends a letter to the governors of New York, Oklahoma, Missouri, Montana, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, criticizing those governments for not responding…
911 location-accuracy program set for third stage; Z-axis testing expected to begin later this year
Device-based hybrid solutions that utilize Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals appear to be the most promising to help locate people using a cell phone to call 911 from inside buildings within…
Here’s an idea for infrastructure week: Bring 911 into the 21st century
By Editorial Board, The Washington Post THIS FRIDAY marks the 50th anniversary of the first 911 emergency call placed in the United States. Since then, uncounted lives have been saved…
States are stealing funds from 9-1-1 emergency services — now they’ll be punished
BY MICHAEL O’RIELLY AND JESSICA ROSENWORCEL Next week, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first 9-1-1 telephone call. That simple act helped revolutionize emergency communications. From it, we…
House passes Kari’s Law amendment
U.S. House members approves an amendment to Kari’s Law legislation—a measure that would require direct dialing for 911 calls made on multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) frequently used by hotels, offices…
APCO Highlights NG 9-1-1 Interoperability in Member Email
SOURCE: Mission Critical Communications DATE: February 2, 2018 An email from the president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International to…