by ECC Editor | Jun 22, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
National Emergency Number Association (NENA) CEO Brian Fontes said it is “false” that his organization would oppose legislation that would provide $15 billion in federal funding for next-generation 911 (NG911) deployments, but he reiterated NENA’s stance that some language in the existing proposal should be changed.
NENA’s position on the NG911 funding language in the U.S. House infrastructure bill—known as the Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act, or LIFT America Act—is being mischaracterized by some as opposition, Fontes said during a keynote interview at the virtual Conference for Advancing Public Safety (CAPS) event hosted by Mission Critical Partners. NENA believes there are “many, many good aspects” of the legislation, particularly the $15 billion in federal funds with no requirement of a local match, he said… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 21, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Huawei’s court challenge to a Federal Communications Commission order that declared it to be a national security threat and denied it access to federal funding was rejected as the FCC ramps up pressure on the company and seeks to deny all future authorizations to it and similar businesses with links to the Chinese Communist Party.
The FCC initially designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats last summer, banning the two companies from accessing U.S. government subsidies to build communication infrastructure. The commission said government subsidies from its $8.3 billion annual Universal Service Fund “may no longer be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by” Huawei. The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau concluded that Huawei was a national security threat. After Huawei sought a review of the designation, the FCC again affirmed in December that the company “poses a threat to the security and integrity of our nation’s communications networks…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 21, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Due to increased call volume and workload over the last 16 years, the DeKalb County Emergency Communications District (E-911) is looking to hire more dispatchers with extra help from the City of Smithville and DeKalb County governments.
The city has already done its part.
During a budget work session in April, 911 Director Brad Mullinax met with the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen at city hall to ask that the city increase its annual contribution to $160,000, up from $119,595. Two weeks ago (June 7th) the aldermen honored Mullinax’s request by including in the 2021-22 city budget funding of $40,405 (salary and benefits) for another paid E-911 dispatcher position. The aldermen adopted the budget on second and final reading last Thursday night, June 17…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 18, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission, which plays an important role in protecting the security of America’s communications networks, today proposed rules that would prohibit all future authorizations for communications equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security. In recent years, the Commission, Congress, and the Executive Branch have taken multiple actions to guard against potential threats to the supply chain of equipment and services within the United States, including ensuring that public funds are not used to undermine or pose a threat to national security.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry adopted today build on the Commission’s ongoing efforts to protect our nation’s communications networks. In addition to proposing to prohibit authorization of equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to national security, the NPRM seeks comment on possible changes to the competitive bidding rules for auctions to protect national security…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 17, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Since the build-out of the FirstNet network began, many federal, state, and local public-safety agencies have become part of the growing number of entities using this Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN).
According to the latest FirstNet (Built with AT&T) report, 16,000+ agencies are using the network and more are joining every month. During the last eighteen months, there were concerns that broadband networks might experience some difficulties keeping up with demand due to Covid-19 and so many people working and studying from home. More and more agencies signed up with FirstNet for interoperability between agencies and to benefit from the increased capabilities provided by AT&T’s rapid build-out of public safety’s 20 MHz of 700-MHz spectrum and access to all of AT&T’s LTE spectrum…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 15, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
The newly created Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting (ACCORD) program designed to improve outcomes for nonviolent emergency calls into County dispatch is rolling out Friday as a pilot program in the Hilltowns. The initiative is a multi-agency partnership that will team up County social workers and paramedics to provide an appropriate response unit for those in need of assistance where a law enforcement presence is unnecessary.
“This multi-faceted program is a common sense upgrade of the way that nonviolent calls for emergency assistance are handled in Albany County,” said Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce. “When we conceptualized this program last fall we wanted to ensure that people got the proper help they needed and that our police force was freed up to focus on upholding the law. Now more than ever, our deputies should be preventing and responding to crime…
