by AllThingsECC.com | May 23, 2022 | Comm Center News
May 21—Officials at the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center are looking for ways to adjust operations to reduce the number of hours dispatchers are forced to work as the county tries to fill 10 open positions.
With more than a quarter of the center’s 35 positions open, dispatchers have had to pick up more overtime hours to ensure that there is no impact on the services they provide, said Melinda Fairbrother-Dyer, the center’s director. There have not been any delays handling 911 or non-emergency calls, but Fairbrother-Dyer has asked the board of directors to look at ways to streamline operations so dispatchers can continue to provide the same services with fewer people…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 23, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
Dialing 911 could be the most important phone call you will ever make. But what happens when the software that’s supposed to deliver that call fails you? It may seem simple, but the technology behind a call for help is complicated, and when it fails, deadly.
The infrastructure supporting emergency contact centers is one of the most critical assets for any city, town or local government. But just as the pandemic exposed the creaky tech infrastructure that runs local governments, in many cases the technology in those call centers is outdated and hasn’t been touched for decades…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 23, 2022 | Comm Center News
The Chester County Department of Emergency Services’ 911 Center is experiencing an unprecedented loss of emergency dispatchers that has left a significant gap in the county’s public safety system and has forced the county to scramble to fill slots left vacant over the past several months. Since January, a total of 13 telecommunicators — the 911 staff members who take emergency and non-emergency calls from the public and then dispatch police, fire or ambulance personnel to address the situation — most with senior-level status, have left the county’s employ. In the same time period, only seven new employees have been hired…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 20, 2022 | Comm Center News
Alexandria, VA – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Emergency Communications Center Awards and Technology Leadership Awards. The winners will be recognized during the Opening General Session at APCO 2022, APCO’s Annual Conference & Expo, taking place August 7-10 in Anaheim, CA.
The award recipients demonstrated the highest levels of professional conduct and outstanding performance in the line of duty. The award winner of each category is…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 20, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
Article after article has been written to make a case that broadband in the United States should be available to all regardless of where they are located or their ability to pay for the service. While “broadband for all” has been a goal for the wireless/fixed communications industry a long time now, progress has been slow.
Now Congress has allocated $65B toward closing the “digital divide” and the FCC and others continue to fund various aspects of deploying broadband systems. If I were to grade the United States on two properties of broadband deployments, I would give us an “A” for the number of broadband technology options for fixed and wireless communications deployments and a “D” for actually extending broadband to rural America and to those who cannot afford it…
