by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Communications, which fields 911 and non-emergency calls in the city, disciplined three employees in connection with the leaking of information that falsely implicated Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in a March 3 hit-and-run crash.
BOEC says it concluded its investigation into the leaks less than a week ago—on July 29. (BOEC’s investigation is separate from the Portland Police Bureau’s internal affairs investigation into the matter, which is still ongoing.)
All told, BOEC disciplined three employees in connection with the investigation: one on April 17, another on July 14 and a third on July 29. “Our investigation found there was no external leak that came from BOEC,” says bureau spokesman Dan Douthit…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
I’m combining two recent announcements on state funds allocated for Southborough. Funding is related to water infrastructure and equipment for public safety departments.
Last week, Representative Carolyn Dykema’s office shared news on the approved state budget for FY22. In addition to touting statewide budget priorities, the release itemized appropriations secured for towns in her district. For Southborough those were $25,000 for water infrastructure improvements and another $25,000 for equipment for the Southborough Fire Department.
This week, Community Advocate reported that the Southborough Police Department secured a state grant for two needed portable radios…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
Martha’s Vineyard is facing another slew of accidental 911 calls this summer season. With the population swell the Island experiences during the summer, the Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC) is fielding more calls, creating struggles for the Island’s police departments, Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee told the Times.
According to the numbers McNamee provided, the issue puts a particular strain on the down-Island departments of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Tisbury. McNamee said July is usually the worst for accidental 911 calls. Edgartown and Oak Bluffs experience an especially big number of calls compared to the others. The total number of 911 calls in July were 270 for Edgartown, 246 for Oak Bluffs, 117 for Tisbury, 55 for West Tisbury, 58 for Chilmark, and 22 for Aquinnah…
by ECC Editor | Aug 4, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Federal funding to accelerate deployment of IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) technology is not included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill introduced in the U.S. Senate, according to the text of the massive $1.2 trillion spending package that was released yesterday.
Many in the public-safety community have been anticipating the language in the infrastructure bill, in hopes that it would include funding to implement NG911 in public-safety answering points (PSAPs) across the country. In March, a Democrat-led U.S. House infrastructure proposal called for $15 billion for NG911, but none of the subsequent infrastructure proposals—from Republicans, the White House or this latest bipartisan Senate bill—has included any mention of NG911 funding… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Wireless carriers and public-safety organizations weighed in on the FCC’s proposal for changing its rules governing notification of disruptions to 9-1-1 service to public-safety answering points (PSAPs).
In April, the FCC released a third notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing changes to its notification requirements. Those changes included harmonizing PSAP outage notifications, mandating the delivery of specific information, requiring carriers to notify consumers of 9-1-1 outages and establishing a timeframe for notification of PSAPs.
Telecommunications service providers and the organizations representing them said that they support the FCC’s goal of improving outage notifications to PSAPs but expressed concerns about several of the proposed rules including the timeframe for providing notice of an outage to PSAPs and a requirement to notify customers of 9-1-1 outages….
by ECC Editor | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News, Press Release
Bipartisan, bicameral legislation will block technology manufactured by companies that pose a threat to national security
Washington (August 4, 2021) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today applauded the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee’s markup of their bipartisan legislation, the Secure Equipment Act of 2021. This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules clarifying that it will no longer review or issue new equipment licenses to companies – such as the People’s Republic of China state-backed firms Huawei and ZTE – on the agency’s “Covered Equipment or Services List” that pose a national security threat. The FCC is required to maintain this list under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, which laid out detailed criteria for determining what communications equipment or services pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. safety.
In 2020, the FCC adopted new rules to require that U.S. telecommunications carriers rip and replace equipment provided by “covered” companies. While that was an important step, those rules only apply to equipment purchased with federal funding. The very same equipment can still be used if purchased with private or non-federal government dollars. Senators Markey and Rubio introduced the Secure Equipment Act to close this loophole and further prevent identified security threats from having a presence in U.S. telecommunications networks. Subsequently, the FCC initiated a rulemaking that mirrors the lawmakers’ proposal. Today’s legislation builds on the FCC’s ongoing proceeding and ensures that the agency takes timely action on this issue.
“In today’s increasingly connected world, we must animate our technology with our values,” said Senator Markey. “That’s why our bipartisan legislation will keep compromised equipment out of U.S. telecommunications networks and ensure our technology is safe for consumers and secure for the United States. I’m proud to partner with Senator Rubio on this proposal and I thank the Commerce Committee for advancing our bill. I look forward to now fighting for its swift passage by the full Senate.”
“The Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to exploit our laws and undermine our national security,” said Senator Rubio. “Chinese state-directed companies, like Huawei and ZTE, have no place in our telecommunications network. This bill would keep compromised equipment from bad actors out of critical U.S. infrastructure. I am pleased that the Commerce Committee advanced this bill, and I look forward to its ultimate passage on the Senate floor.”
Representative Anna Eshoo (CA-18) and Representative Steve Scalise (LA-01) have also introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives, which was recently advanced by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“The Secure Equipment Act of 2021 will help keep our country safe by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders. These latest efforts align with my efforts to update the Federal Communications Commission’s equipment authorization procedures,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC Acting Chairwoman. “I thank Senators Markey and Rubio for their dedication to this issue–having this policy written into the law will send a strong, bipartisan signal that the United States is serious about developing a robust market for secure 5G alternatives.”
“I applaud Senator Rubio and Senator Markey for their leadership and work to secure America’s communications networks,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said. “Their legislation would help ensure that insecure gear from companies like Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese state-backed entities can no longer be inserted into America’s communications infrastructure. This gear poses an unacceptable risk to our national security, and their bipartisan legislation would ensure that the FCC closes the loophole being used today by Huawei and others on the Covered List to be a part of our networks. I am very pleased that this legislation has advanced out of Committee and look forward to its consideration by the full Senate.”
