Six counties from across Maryland staged a 9-1-1 expo with live call-taking from a remote and crowded location using FirstNet. The expo was conducted at the Maryland Association of Counties’ winter conference.
FirstNet Authority
By John Hunt, Senior Public Safety Advisor and 9-1-1/Emergency Communications Expert, First Responder Network Authority and Lori Stone, Senior Public Safety Advisor, First Responder Network Authority
If the 9-1-1 community learned anything from the pandemic, it’s the need to plan for alternate ways to work. Rather than be tied to workstations at fixed locations, 9-1-1 telecommunicators need flexibility to remotely take, dispatch, and supervise calls. In December 2021, Maryland telecommunicators put FirstNet, America’s public safety broadband network, to the test, demonstrating the network’s connectivity and reliability during remote operations….
CALEXICO — For the past few months, Calexico Police Department traffic controllers have been utilizing push-to-talk radios that have benefited the department in several ways.
The radios replaced Motorola radios that were not connected to the local Regional Communication Services system that the city’s police, Fire Department and public safety dispatchers are connected to, thereby expanding the city’s interoperable communication services.
The radios, supplied by AT&T through its FirstNet system, also can be utilized by patrol officers in the event that the Regional Communication Services (RCS) becomes inoperable, thereby providing the department with a backup emergency communication system…
February 23, 2022 – Following the recent announcements concerning spectrum from the Federal Communication Commission, agency chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel revealed Tuesday a proposal to use proceeds from upcoming spectrum auctions to update the national 9-1-1 system, according to an FCC press release.
The next generation 9-1-1 system allows callers to send emergency responders photos, videos and text messages, instead of just calls. For example, these upgrades would include sharing pictures and videos of the emergency during the emergency and sharing medical records instantaneously… READ MORE
FirstNet subscribers have access to the wireless network with the largest coverage footprint in the United States by more than 50,000 square miles, AT&T stated this week as part of press announcement released on the 10th anniversary of the FirstNet Authority being created.
Jason Porter, president of AT&T’s public-sector and FirstNet business units, said AT&T—the FirstNet Authority’s contractor building the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN)—has spent more than $130 billion on wireless infrastructure and spectrum in the five years since being awarded the FirstNet contract in March 2017…
OGDENSBURG — Beginning in June, anyone who calls the Ogdensburg Police Department with an emergency will be advised to hang up and dial 911, the latest move by the city as it works to transfer its police dispatching to St. Lawrence County.
On Wednesday, St. Lawrence County Attorney Stephen D. Button was notified in a letter written by Cheryl I. Sacco with Coughlin & Gerhart LLP, a firm representing the city, that it will “cease providing City Police Dispatch and the County needs to handle Police dispatch obligations in the same manner that it does Fire and EMS calls from the City…
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) — What would you do if you were placed on hold when you called 911 during an emergency?
Waukesha County 911 operators are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen in the community they serve, as national employment struggles continue to have an impact locally. That could mean you have to wait longer for help.
Dan Szpek, Waukesha County 911 telecommunicator, said when they’re short-staffed like they are now, they will answer your call ASAP, but there will be times when there is a wait.
“The same way a hospital might triage injuries, someone with a rolled ankle is going to sit in the ER longer than someone with difficulty breathing,” said Szpek… READ MORE
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
