RapidSOS launches app store with public-safety software partners

RapidSOS today announced the launch of the RapidSOS Partner Network, an application store of software solutions that integrate with RapidSOS to deliver critical information to 911 personnel, command centers and public-safety officers that is designed to improve emergency-response efforts.

While RapidSOS is known for delivering data tools to 911 centers and partnering with other solution providers, the RapidSOS Partner Network is being established to make it easier for emergency call centers (ECCs) to access new capabilities through an app-store experience, according to Jessica Reed, vice president of global sales for RapidSOS…

Emergency response data firm RapidSOS launches partner network

Emergency response data firm RapidSOS launches partner network

The emergency response data-management vendor RapidSOS on Tuesday announced the creation of a new “partner network” that integrates 20 other vendors’ products into a common dashboard. The purpose, the company said, is make it easier for workers at the nearly 5,000 emergency communications centers that use RapidSOS’ software to sift through the ever-increasing layers of data collected when responding to a call.

“There are so many screens these communicators need to look at,” Jessica Reed, the company’s vice president of strategy and global partners, said in a phone interview. “Our goal is to bring it to one screen.”

RapidSOS is one of a handful of companies that markets software that aims to deliver real-time information to public safety answering points that’s more robust — and, ideally, precise — than the existing 911 system, which is built on physical telephone lines, and being phased out slowly for a next-generation system better suited for contemporary wireless communications…

Beyond the Comfort Zone

Beyond the Comfort Zone

Samantha Hawkins

Every 911 operator has that call that will
demand more of them than usual … this was mine.

I was the second 911 operator she had spoken with that
morning. Only six minutes into our phone conversation on that 911 line, I had
determined that she very likely had paranoid schizophrenia with a totally
unhealthy splash of “watched one too many fictional espionage dramas.” She was
a chaotic ball of nervous energy going on incessantly about the electronic bugs
in her apartment (and in her brain), the neighbors to the immediate left of her
building that were harassing her by staring into her windows at night, and all
the reasons why she didn’t trust law enforcement to begin with. I tried to
sound gentle and reassuring even as I recognized what I was dealing with…

UScellular and Tango Tango Support First Responders With Interoperability Solution

UScellular and Tango Tango Support First Responders With Interoperability Solution

Chicago, IL, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First responders have a new wireless solution that enhances mission-critical communications services. UScellular and Tango Tango are teaming up to expand radio reach, enable agency collaboration and extend the life of land mobile radio (LMR) systems for public safety officials.

UScellular’s wireless network and the advanced networking, mobile, and cloud technologies from Tango Tango, help expand the coverage and capabilities of a traditional LMR system ideal for push-to-talk services used by police, fire and emergency operations…

Overhauling 911 Call Center Tech is a ‘Matter of Life and Death’

Overhauling 911 Call Center Tech is a ‘Matter of Life and Death’

Department of Homeland Security teams are working to make aging IT infrastructure interoperable and ready for 5G emerging technology.

Norman Speicher was looking at colleges in Boston, Massachusetts, with his daughter when he made a 911 call on behalf of someone who suddenly fainted. His phone connected to a cell tower on the south side of the city, and algorithms routed the call to the wrong dispatch center, as the dispatcher informed him. This delayed help by four or five minutes.

The episode illuminates some of the interoperability cracks in computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems between 911 call centers, first responders and law enforcement…

Don’t Venture Into VoIP Alone

Four key phases exist in a VoIP project: assessment, design, procurement, and implementation. An independent consultant can bring you an unbiased perspective throughout the journey by identifying potential bottlenecks, estimating budgets, determining what needs to be upgraded or replaced, and developing a set of system requirements to ensure a competitive bid process and smoother implementation. Here, I’ll share an inside view of how to make the most of each phase of the VoIP process—giving you a taste of the value a consultant brings to the table. 

VoIP projects typically take six to 12 months to complete, and engaging an outside expert to handle the process takes a burden off your IT department. The consultant can work as part of the IT group, performing many of the tasks necessary to complete critical phases while still allowing oversight from the project team… READ MORE