by ECC Editor | Mar 28, 2022 | Comm Center News
From North County Fire Protection District
If your mobile phone is more than a few years old, you may need to upgrade your device before your mobile provider shuts down its 3G network, to avoid losing service. For more information on your mobile providers’ plans for 3G retirement and how you can prepare, contact your provider directly.
What is happening?
Mobile carriers are shutting down their 3G networks, which rely on older technology, to make room for more advanced network services, including 5G. As a result, many older cell phones will be unable to make or receive calls and texts, including calls to 911, or use data services. This will affect 3G mobile phones and certain older 4G mobile phones that do not support Voice over LTE (VoLTE or HD Voice)… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Mar 28, 2022 | Comm Center News
The Palo Alto Police Department is pushing back against attempts by some members of the City Council to reverse its policy of encrypting police radio communication, which prevents the media and members of the public from using scanners to monitoring police activities.
The policy change was made by City Manager Ed Shikada and Police Chief Robert Jonsen in January 2021 with no council involvement or advance warning. Both had claimed since then that it was adopted to comply with an October 2020 order from the state Department of Justice, which requires law enforcement agencies to protect personal identifiable information such as an individual’s Social Security number or passport number. The DOJ memo does, however, allow agencies to adopt policies that protect this information without fully encrypting their communications, as the California Highway Patrol had done… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Mar 27, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
With federal regulations around 911 calling and location information fully in effect and enforceable, organizations need to ensure their PBX and phone systems are compliant.
“There are obligations for everyone, from the manufacturer and distributor through to the operator of any multiline telephone system,” said Martha Buyer, a telecommunications attorney.
Kari’s Law requires that multiline telephone systems sold, leased or installed after Feb. 16, 2020, support phones directly calling 911 without needing to dial a prefix first. The law also requires that 911 calls have a valid callback number and that appropriate on-site personnel, like security, are notified when a 911 call is made… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Mar 26, 2022 | Comm Center News
WOOD RIVER— Equipment upgrades to Madison County’s 911 call centers will take longer than necessary because AT&T has fallen behind.
At Wednesday’s Emergency Telephone System Board meeting, Madison County 911 Director Dana Burris said the installation of the new equipment— which has been in the works for more than a year and had been delayed because of supply chain issues — has fallen slightly behind because of delays by the phone company in circuit testing… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Mar 26, 2022 | Comm Center News
The Glenview Public Safety Dispatch Center operates in a large, yet dark and quiet room on the second floor of Glenview Village Hall. There, dispatchers at work — headsets on — seemingly glow under the plethora of computer screens and television monitors throughout the room.
The Glenview Journal was granted rare access last week to tour the Glenview Public Safety Dispatch Center and see its dispatchers in action.
Dispatchers, also called telecommunicators, are often unseen, but are in many ways the first to respond to an emergency. They are the first to make contact with those who, just seconds before, may have experienced the worst moments in their lives, facing crime, injuries, fires, or other emergencies… READ MORE
