by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 4, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
4.9 GHz
As many are aware, last year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided public safety was not making sufficient use of the 50 MHz of spectrum in the 4.9-GHz band the Commission had made available to the public-safety community for Wi-Fi-type services starting in 2002.
The FCC’s idea was to assign the spectrum to each state and each state could then award a master lease for the spectrum. The successful leaseholder would then be able to determine how the spectrum would be used within that state, and supposedly protect existing public-safety users of the spectrum.
The Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) filed a number of comments and then filed a request for stay to prevent the FCC from moving forward with its intended plan. In 2021, the new FCC implemented the stay order and to a limited extent, began permitting public safety to once again license systems for use in the 4.9-GHz band…
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 3, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Margaret Gutierrez, National Tribal Government Liaison, First Responder Network Authority
Twenty years ago, the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation revealed fundamental problems with our emergency communications systems. Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics could not communicate across radio systems, and cell towers were congested with commercial usage. First responders’ inability to communicate on that fateful day underscored significant public safety communication shortfalls nationwide – including on tribal lands. READ FULL ARTICLE
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 2, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
A unique public-private partnership provides broadband for public safety services and for rural areas that have been traditionally underserved or unserved.
By Mark L. Ryckman, ICMA-CM; and Kenzie Capece | Nov 01, 2021 | PM MAGAZINE
For the first time, public safety has a nationwide broadband network it can call its own. Known as FirstNet, the network is built through a public-private partnership between the federal government and the global telecommunications carrier AT&T. Overseen by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), a federal government entity, this nationwide broadband network is revolutionizing the delivery of public safety services. READ FULL ARTICLE
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 1, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
About 95% of once-proposed federal funding to accelerate next-generation-911 (NG911) deployment nationwide was eliminated from the text of the $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill that was released yesterday, although the $500 million included still would be the largest federal 911 investment in history.
Reconciliation-bill text calls for $470 million to fund a nationwide NG911 grant program that could be used to plan, deploy, implement and maintain IP-based next-generation platforms, as well as fund training of personnel. The proposal also includes $20 million for administrative costs, $9 million to establish a new NG911 cybersecurity center, and $1 million to establish a 16-member Public Safety Next Generation 911 Advisory Board to provide recommendations to the NTIA assistant secretary administering the program…
by ECC Editor | Oct 28, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Every year, millions of 911 calls involve a person experiencing an emergency related to a mental health or substance use disorder—situations often referred to as behavioral health crises.1 How these calls are handled can determine whether the incident ends safely, the person in crisis is arrested, or the person is connected to appropriate care.
The call-takers and dispatchers answering these emergency calls make critical assessments of the health and safety of those involved in each call, decide whether help is needed, and, if it is, determine whether it should be led by law enforcement officers, emergency medical services, or more specialized field responses (if available)… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Oct 28, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Weber Area 911 dispatcher Matt Graves works at dispatch and emergency services on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019.
It started when a young woman desperately sought help in a mental health crisis and her call went to voicemail. She then took her life.
State Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, told the story Tuesday as a national group of experts discussed the growing challenges of communities effectively responding to life-or-death behavioral health situations without throwing people in jail or handing them off to overwhelmed hospital emergency rooms…
