PSSA Releases Petition to Protect 4.9 GHz Spectrum for Public Safety

The Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA), a newly formed coalition to protect public safety’s use of 4.9 GHz spectrum, announced during a national webinar that it has launched a petition supporting the effort.

Organized by the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA), PSSA is comprised of public safety leadership and supporting associations, collaborating to spread awareness of first responders’ critical requirement to preserve the 4.9 GHz spectrum for their current and future broadband needs.

The PSSA initiative serves as public safety’s voice to communicate the vital need for spectrum and to assign it to the FirstNet Authority—which is in the best position to work collaboratively with the public safety community to determine a nationwide plan that optimizes the ability to protect life and property…

Council considers future of Ripon’s dispatch center (WI)

Whether to transfer the city of Ripon’s dispatch center to Fond du Lac County was a topic during Monday’s Common Council meeting.

Ultimately, it was suggest to take a wait-and-see approach as more information is discovered.

Ripon Police Chief Bill Wallner presented council members his thoughts on the matter, which was first brought up Aug. 10 during a Committee of the Whole meeting…

2018 Key Enacted 911 Legislation

Sixteen states enacted 22 bills in 2018 aimed at supporting and improving the efficiency of the 911 component of public emergency communication services operations. 

Although fewer states passed legislation pertaining to Next Generation 911 (NG911) in 2018 than in past years, at least four states—Colorado, Iowa, Maryland and Virginia—passed NG911-related legislation. NG911 is an internet protocol (IP)-based system that allows users to send digital information such as photos, text messages or videos, in addition to phone calls, to 911 call centers and reroute 911 calls among 911 call centers. A total of 20 states have adopted a statewide NG911 plan and 22 reported being in the installation and testing phase of NG911 component implementation, according to the 2017 National 911 Progress Report… READ MORE 

The Lowdown: What happens when you dial 9-1-1? (NC)

When in need of immediate assistance for themselves or someone else, people call 911, and in that moment, they are the most important person in the crisis. The caller possesses the information necessary for an appropriate emergency response. However, the time it takes for help to arrive can seem like an eternity, and callers are frequently frustrated by the dispatcher’s questioning. It is common for a telecommunicator to hear, “Why are you asking this? Just send someone!”

Axon launches Respond platform with cloud-based CAD, integration support

Axon yesterday launched Respond, a cloud-based, real-time operations platform that marks the company’s entry into the computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) arena and is designed to help agencies leverage information from a various connected devices to enhance response efforts, according to a company official.

“We stepped back and said, ‘We want to do this right.’ We don’t want to get into this space just to replicate what has existed before,” Josh Pepper, Axon’s vice president of product management, said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications… READ MORE

Fort McCoy dispatchers have continued 24/7 operations since pandemic began (WI)

If someone dials 911 at Fort McCoy, someone is always there to answer, said Supervisory Public Safety Dispatcher Richard Kingsbury with the Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) Central 911 Communications/Security Center.

The center, also referred to as DES Dispatch Center at the installation, has maintained its coverage and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, Kingsbury said…