Comm Center News
Grayson County Sheriff’s Office holds telecommunications award banquet (TX)
SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) -The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office held their 9-1-1 telecommunications awards banquet tonight to celebrate the people on the other line during calls for emergencies. “You just have to try and not think about anything other than the call you’re...
911 Emergency Dispatchers Honored For Service (OR)
Last year, 911 dispatchers took 2 million emergency calls in Oregon-- responding to pandemic, floods, fires and a destructive winter storm. Governor Kate Brown honored 911 operators by declaring this Public Safety Telecommunications Week. (April 11-17, 2021). State...
Commissioners recognize Upshur E-911 Telecommunicators (WV)
BUCKHANNON — On March 25, 2020, Governor Jim Justice approved House Bill 4123 that was passed by the West Virginia Legislature, clarifying that 911 telecommunication workers are included in the definition of those individuals who perform “emergency services” during a...
WPD telecommunicator honored as professional of the year (TX)
Weatherford Police Department Telecommunications Officer Dylan Swackhammer was selected as a 911 Professional of the Year for the North Central Texas area. Swackhammer was one of nine to receive the honor from the North Central Texas Emergency Communications District...
Valley dispatchers honored for lifesaving efforts (CA)
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Dispatchers answer the calls no one wants to make. Life-changing trauma is often on the other end of the line. "A lot of the times they call in and we are their last resort, they don't know who to call," says Elaura Castro. Day in and day out,...
Senior Public Safety Dispatchers of the Year (CA)
Without a doubt, 2020 was filled with challenge and controversy throughout. From civil unrest, political divide and a global pandemic, it was an unprecedented and turbulent year. The City of Santa Clara's Communications Center also faced the departure of the...
MAYOR: ‘Now I understand’ after touring emergency dispatch center (KS)
Hays Police Lt. Jeff Ridgway, Chief Don Scheibler, Lt. Brandon Wright, and Deputy Chief Brian Dawson look on as dispatch employees post for pictures with city commissioners Thursday as part of National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. Hays police officers gave...
Allegany County 911 dispatchers recognized for public service (MD)
CUMBERLAND — The Allegany County Department of Emergency Services is recognizing the work of 24 dispatchers at its 911 Joint Communications Center in conjunction with National Telecommunications Week. In 2020, county dispatchers received 140,458 calls, many of which...
Special delivery: 911 dispatcher helps American Fork parents deliver their baby (CA)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A baby will come into the world at its own pace. Sometimes the baby is born after the due date. Sometimes they come early. For one woman, the baby came before she could get inside a hospital, but luckily a nurse was within earshot of the woman and...
Dispatchers Recognized for Hard Work during Telecommunicators Week (IN)
Dispatchers around the area are being recognized this week for their hard work in providing immediate assistance to those who call police for help. A 911 Dispatcher, or Telecommunicator, is the first person you talk to when you call 911 to report an emergency day or...
It’s National Public Safety Telecommunications Week! (GA)
AUGUSTA (WFXG) - The week of April 11-17 is dedicated to the people who help us through our emergencies. It's National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. It's a career that keeps the dispatchers at Gold Cross EMS busy. In fact, in just two minutes, the center is...
Thanking 911 Dispatchers: The First Step of First Responders (NY)
Each year, the second week of April is celebrated at National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, honoring those who dedicate their lives to serving the public. Telecommunication personnel work as 911 operators evaluating incoming emergency calls and sending...
Public safety communicators honored with National Public Safety Telecommunications Week (OK)
In observance of National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, April 11-17, The Ada News spoke to 911 dispatchers located in the Ada City Hall Annex. Central Dispatch is the nexus of public safety communications in Pontotoc County. Dispacters sit in a darkened room,...
National public safety telecommunications week (NY)
BINGHAMTON, NY – This week we are celebrating the workers that do their part in keeping the first responders safe. This week is National Public Safety Telecommunications week and it’s a time to honor the 9-1-1 dispatchers and all their hard work. On a day to day...
Ridgefield Police Salute Unseen Heroes of Public Safety (CT)
This week, the Ridgefield Police Department is celebrating the men and women of our Emergency Communications System. When you’re faced with an emergency such as crime, a crash, a fire, or a medical episode, these are frequently the very first people you speak to. They...
‘Heroes Behind the Headsets’: KSP dispatchers often first voice heard on person’s worst day (KY)
HICKORY — They are often the first voices a person will hear in the event of an emergency. They are an unseen lifeline in a time of distress. They are called “heroes behind the headsets” for good reason. Telecommunicators, or dispatchers, with Kentucky State Police...
Our First Responder Award this month honors 911 operator Trish Matthews (TN)
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – It’s National Public Safety telecommunications Week–a time to recognize the valuable contributions made by the thousands of 9-1-1 employees across the country. The Hamilton county 9-1-1 center has almost 200 people who fit that category...
Getting real-time crash data to responders
Public safety answering points (PSAPs) in California can get real-time crash notifications through an agreement between a cloud-based emergency response platform and General Motors’ OnStar emergency system. Announced at the end of March, the collaboration between...
Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) to shut down
After three years of existence, the non-profit Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) will cease operations within 45 days as officials say they believe that the organization achieved its primary goal to promote public safety’s use of open-standard technologies.
“PSTA achieved its mission,” PSTA board member Jeff Johnson said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “In a time where we were transitioning to an LTE entrant into the public-safety community through FirstNet, it was important that we did what we could to maintain open standards and that we caused the conversation [to be conducted within public safety]. I’m extremely satisfied with what we achieved and what standards we were able to get vetted in a broad group of stakeholders.
“That was a great group of people and a lot of good contributors—the bottom line is that it was good for public safety. But all things have their time, and we’ve moved into an era where the tech community has embraced public safety and our need for open standards. Our work here is done, as they say.”
Victoria Lee, who led the management of PSTA operations, echoed this sentiment, noting that multiple public-safety-focused organizations—for example, TCCA, FirstNet, the Public Safety Technology Broadband Association (PSTBA), the National Alliance of Public Safety GIS and the R2 Network—are advocating that public safety leverage open-standards solutions and APIs.
“Basically, everybody out there is really kind of pushing it,” Lee said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “They get it, and that was really the ultimate goal of PSTA.
“We see it as a good-news story, because it did exactly what it was meant to do for the time it was meant to do it.”
PSTA will close operations “in the next 30 to 45 days,” Lee said. Members began discussing the possibility of closing the organization at the end of last year, as PSTA’s technical subcommittees completed their reports about the following issues:
Cybersecurity
Identity/Single Sign On (SSO)
Mission-Critical PTX (talk/video/data)
Mapping
Situational Awareness
LMR/LTE Interoperability
While these technical reports were completed, Lee said activity within the PSTA has been “fairly dormant” during the past year, in large part because public-safety members’ time was consumed with responsibilities associated with COVID-19 response effort, in addition their normal job duties.
In fact, TJ Kennedy—the former FirstNet Authority president who led the founding of the PSTA in 2018—officially is still listed as CEO of the PSTA. Even if the PSTA had continued, “that was going to have to change,” given Kennedy’s current job as CEO and president of Qumu, which provides virtual collaboration platform services to enterprises.
Lee is managing director of The Public Safety Network, a for-profit company that was founded in 2017 by Kennedy and former FirstNet Authority Chief Counsel Jason Karp. Although many key players for The Public Safety Network did work for the PSTA, Lee emphasized that The Public Safety Network is continuing its work.
City honors retired SRO Jason Davis; dedicates this week to county’s emergency dispatch center (NY)
The City of Batavia this week honored a longtime police officer who recently retired and recognized the contributions of Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center personnel. City Council President Eugene Jankowski and Council member Jeremy Karas, at Monday night's...
Upcoming Webinar
4.9 GHz Band: Review of the FCC Order
On October 22, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) released its Eighth Report and Order (Eighth R&O) regarding utilization of the 4940-4990 MHz (4.9 GHz) band that protects incumbent users as requested by us, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA). This Eighth R&O addresses a number of issues related to the use of this band by public safety. Please join us for a briefing on this order and how it impacts public safety.
This presentation will be led by Chief Jeff Johnson (ret) and Attorney Jason Karp, one of the nation’s leading experts in public safety spectrum regulations.
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