by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 15, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
While conducting research for my 2021 Wisconsin Public Safety Commission (WIPSCOM) conference presentation, it became immediately clear that securing the nation’s public safety answering points (PSAPs) is no longer just an IT challenge.
Shifting from an analog to digital operating environment — the next generation of 911 — will require strategic investments into three key areas: people, processes and technology. As call center technology evolves nationwide, the need for greater cybersecurity in the public safety space has never been more important.
Internet connected systems…
by ECC Editor | Jun 11, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
One of the biggest barriers to closing the digital divide has long been cost – it simply costs so much to put in the infrastructure that the return on investment takes too long or is simply non-existent, network operators have said. Now, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic when broadband has played a crucial role in enabling online work, school and personal connection, there are billions of dollars being dedicated to various aspects of broadband deployment, through various legislative efforts. At the federal level, these include:
-The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund reverse auction for Universal Service Fund support in the coming decade wrapped up last December; the FCC is still reviewing the long-form applications of the presumptive winners. RDOF awards $9.23 billion in support of high-speed rural broadband deployment, with service tiers ranging from a minimum of 25/3 Mbps and up to gigabit speeds. The FCC said that the funds will be used in 49 states and one territory to connect nearly 5.3 million locations in 61,766 eligible census block groups…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 10, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Last week, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) issued a press release thanking the FCC Commissioners for their positive vote on the PSSA’s December 30, 2022 stay request. The Commission is currently made up of four Commissioners: Two Democrat Commissioners, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, and two Republican Commissioners, Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington. Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioners Starks and Simington voted for the stay while Commissioner Carr maintained his original no vote but did indicate he was receptive to working with public safety on how to best use this spectrum.
Last year’s five-member FCC Commission voted three to two in favor of reallocating the 4.9-GHz spectrum, taking it from the public-safety community and awarding it to each state. That ruling would have permitted each state to execute a master lease with an organization that would then determine how the spectrum would be used in that state. There was some wording in the order that might have protected existing public-safety 4.9-GHz users, but it was unclear whether this would actually shelter them…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 10, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Representatives of three organizations associated with 911 expressed some optimism that ongoing “discussions” between could lead to broader consensus on the language that should be included in any legislation to provide $15 billion in federal funds to accelerate the deployment of next-generation 911 (NG911) across the United States.
Personnel from the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) made the statements in response to questions about NG911 funding during a webinar last week hosted by the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA)…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 8, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Thirteen cities have completed an eight-week “policy-sprint” to develop programs to create an emergency response that assigns civilian mental health counselors to respond to 911 calls, CNN reports.
The Alternative Dispatch Programs, developed by Everytown For Gun Safety and What Works Cities, is aimed at reducing the burden of police who ordinarily respond to such calls. Organizers say it will help save lives, and save cities money.
“Not everyone has the perfect answer but having conversations, finding possible ways to work through this, is the start,” said Naureen Kabir, a senior policy adviser at Everytown, a gun violence prevention group…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 7, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
The nation’s move to the next generation of 911 technology has made strides over the past year, but industry experts said during an online event Friday that considerable work is still needed in securing sustainable funding from Congress and establishing standards, particularly to secure the new, IP-based systems.
Recent developments affecting next-generation 911 include an announcement this week by Jessica Rosenworcel, acting chair of the Federal Communications Commission, that the FCC has secured agreements with the nation’s three largest wireless carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon — to begin delivering vertical location data nationwide. The companies have agreed to immediately begin providing 911 centers nationwide with what the industry calls “z-axis” data, intended to help first responders more quickly locate callers in multi-story buildings…
