BENTON — Marshall County Fiscal Court took a recess during its recent meeting to tour the E911 facility. Director Chris Freeman welcomed the court, along with many others, and gave a presentation on how it would greatly benefit Marshall County’s emergency infrastructure.
Freeman went over many positive aspects of the controversial facility, which he purports will solve many, if not all, of Marshall County’s emergency communications issues. Throughout the presentation, he said the 911 center goes beyond a regular dispatch center, and is a “game changer.”
“Again, this is not a dispatch center, it’s not a 911 center. It’s an emergency communications center, with hopes of regionalization in the future,” Freeman said…
The Ten-Year Plan was developed in partnership with CTC Energy and Technology and Rural Innovations Strategies, Inc.
The 365-page Plan provides an overview of the current state of telecommunications services and facilities in the state, current trends in usage and adoption, and recommendations for improving access to broadband services throughout Vermont.
Specifically, the plan provides a roadmap to achieving the state’s most pressing telecommunications and broadband goals, including:
Bringing every currently unserved and underserved on-grid Vermont home access to 100/100 megabits per second (Mbps) broadband that can be scalable to faster speeds as demand warrants;
Leveraging residential fiber deployments into better mobile voice coverage along key roadways and in small communities;
Ensuring that telecommunications systems are resilient, redundant, secure, and future-proof for commercial, consumer, and public safety needs…
BELLEFONTE — Some Centre County employees will see more money in their paychecks very soon.
During Thursday’s salary board meeting, the board approved a $5 per hour pay hike for Centre County workers at both the Emergency Communications Center and the Centre County Correctional Facility.
The commissioners said on Tuesday that the situation was dire. Citing low level staffing numbers at the county prison and the county 911 center, county administrators approved the pay hike with hopes that the new incentive will retain current employees while and get new hires on board quickly. Needless to say, both the Emergency Communications Center and the Centre County Correctional Facility need staffing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year…
ST. LOUIS — On a recent afternoon, just two dispatchers were tasked with answering all St. Louis 911 and nonemergency police calls for their full eight-hour shifts.
The 911 wait time about 3:30 p.m. that day was eight minutes, with the longest hold time glaring at the dispatchers under a red line on their computer screens.
Waiting callers got the same message on repeat: “You have reached the 911 center for the city of St. Louis. All operators are busy at this time. Please do not hang up. Your call will be answered in the order received.”
When gunshots ring out in a neighborhood, a police scanner can come in handy. News reporters listen to scanner traffic to piece together what is happening. Sometimes residents tune in via cellphone apps.
Now, more and more, that source of information is being cut off. Most law enforcement agencies in San Diego County have encrypted or will encrypt their radio communications, limiting access to real-time information about crimes and other public safety matters…
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
