Comm Center News
Pre-planning support to maximize FirstNet broadband capabilities
By Doug Harder, Senior Public Safety Advisor, First Responder Network Authority
Whether organizing a sporting event, updating an emergency response plan, or responding to a weather-related disaster, first responders know that pre-event planning is crucial to ensuring a successful and safe outcome.
That’s why the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) team offers advance planning and preparation support to FirstNet users. We work closely with public safety agencies to understand the event, identify first responders’ needs and desired capabilities for that day, and work with our network partner, AT&T, to identify what broadband solutions and coverage are needed to successfully support the event. As the number of FirstNet subscribers continues to grow nationwide, more public safety agencies are working with our team of experts and taking advantage of this unique and free service.
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House proposes $15 billion for NG911 funding in new infrastructure bill
House Democrats have proposed a massive infrastructure bill that would provide $15 billion in federal funds to pay for 911 centers nationwide to be upgraded to IP-based, next-generation-911 (NG911) technology. While all public-safety organizations support the notion of NG911 funding, there are some disagreements within the community about some language in the legislation.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) last week introduced the infrastructure bill, the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act, or the LIFT America Act. In recent years, there has been considerable discussion on Capitol Hill to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure, but this legislation represents an opportunity to make this vision a reality, he said.
“Over the last year, we’ve seen the devastating results of inaction: major power outages, water shortages, health care facilities stretched to the limit, and communities left behind due to the digital divide,” Pallone said in a prepared statement. “By modernizing our infrastructure, we have an opportunity to revitalize our economy, create millions of new jobs, combat climate change, and ensure no community is left behind.”
There is general consensus that one area in need of modernization is the nation’s 911 infrastructure, which was designed as voice-centric emergency-calling platform in the 1960s and 1970s, when the public’s only way to seek help was to call a 911 center from a landline telephone. Today, more than 80% of calls come from cellular phones and there is a growing expectation that 911 centers should be able to receive text, data, photo and video communications, as well as voice calls.
Language in the infrastructure bill calls for $15 billion to fund the migration from legacy 911 systems to NG911 technology—a $3 billion increase in proposed funding compared to 911 funding bills introduced in recent sessions of Congress. The new bill largely reflects the language proposed by the Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition, which includes representatives from associations representing fire, EMS and law-enforcement agencies, as well the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
Mel Maier, chairman of the Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition, said the membership was “really excited” that key aspects supported by the organization—an advisory committee, cybersecurity measures, training effort and the additional $3 billion—were included in the infrastructure bill.
Maier applauded the “tireless” efforts of staff members from the offices of Pallone and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)—a co-chair of the Congressional Next Gen 911 Caucus—to put the NG911 language in the proposed infrastructure package. Although the LIFT America Act was introduced by House Democrats, Maier said he believes the measure can garner bipartisan support, particularly around an issue like promoting the citizen safety with an upgraded 911 system.
“Our partners will be the vendor community, the telecommunications folks—they’re going to work with us, and we’re going to have the right people doing the right thing on this,” Maier said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “I’m excited to have the chiefs and the sheriffs stand up on this. I’m proud of what we accomplished, but I’m going to be more proud of what we’re going to accomplish once this thing gets through.
“I’m very positive about the outcome. All of those people that right now don’t share that vision, I think they will once they see the end-result product. I think they’re going to be very excited to see this, especially when its about an industry that we’ve all said we are supporting—911, the operators and the folks that run these 911 centers and the people that work there. That’s our mission—to support them. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
As Maier mentioned, some public-safety organizations expressed concerns with some language within the NG911 portion of the massive infrastructure proposal, including the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), which has led the push for federal NG911 funding in the past, including the Next Generation 911 Act of 2019.
NENA has not been part of Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition’s meeting during the past year and is not listed as a supporter of the legislation in the coalition’s press release about the infrastructure bill.
Indeed, NENA’s press release states that some of the NG911 language “could complicate and delay NG911 deployments, waste scarce federal resources, and shift authority over 911 from states and localities to the federal government” and asks federal lawmakers use the 2019 language as the foundation for NG911 funding proposal.
“The infrastructure bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix the cracks in the foundation of all public safety response: America’s 911 systems,” NENA CEO Brian Fontes said in a prepared statement. “It is absolutely essential that we get it right. But unfortunately, the language introduced [in the LIFT America Act] could strand already-substantial state investments in NG911 deployments, and create cybersecurity risks for state, local, and tribal governments.”
This sentiment differs considerably from the view expressed by Dereck Poarch, the executive director and CEO of APCO, which is a member of the Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition.
“APCO wishes to sincerely thank Representatives Pallone and Eshoo and their staff for being strong allies of the public safety community and for their work in introducing this much-needed legislation that will greatly benefit 9-1-1 professionals and the public they serve,” Poarch said in a prepared statement.
“We look forward to working with all members of Congress to build support and achieve passage of this bill, which is so critical to modernizing the nation’s emergency communications infrastructure.”
In addition to APCO, other Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition organizations supporting the infrastructure bill include the Major County Sheriffs of America, Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Sheriffs Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, and the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO).
Some notable 911-oriented organizations not included in this list are NENA, the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) and the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT).
American 9-1-1 centers signal unease over “wasteful” provisions of LIFT America funding bill
While thankful for the support for system upgrades the newly introduced House LIFT America Act demonstrates, American 9-1-1 groups are concerned that elements of it could prove wasteful and delay and complicate deployment of a Next Generation 9-1-1 nationwide. “The...
New Hanover 911 dispatchers: The true emergency first responders (NC)
Emergency dispatchers aren't on scene, but they are the first responders in 911 situations -- the heroes not many people think about. But they play a major role in emergency situations. Telecommunicators always answer their calls by saying, "Where is...
City 911 service has an hour-long outage (OH)
CIRCLEVILLE — City 911 services were down for about an hour Friday evening. A Nixle alert went out at 6:05 p.m. alerting residents that 911 services were down and if they needed to reach emergency services, to do so at 740-474-8888 or to contact the Sheriff’s Office...
W.Va. bill would require outdated 911 centers to update programs
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - House of Delegates member Gary Howell (R- Mineral) said West Virginia is one of four states that have not started the process to enhance 911 services. “When it gets down to it, there are only four states who have not started the process, and...
Transition Administrator notifies FCC of 800 MHz rebanding completion
Almost 17 years after the FCC called for the reconfiguration of 800 MHz spectrum—known as 800 MHz rebanding—the massive program of retuning more than 2,100 radio systems should be done in June, the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA) recently stated in its notice of program completion filed recently with the FCC.
“The TA has determined that all of the 800 MHz incumbent licensees in 2,169 reconfiguration agreements—except for the City of El Paso, Texas, and License Acquisitions—that were subject to reconfiguration have relocated to their post-reconfiguration frequencies and modified their licenses to delete their pre-reconfiguration frequencies or canceled their licenses,” the TA states in its filing with the FCC.
“In addition, except for a single licensee, License Acquisitions, all licensees have completed their physical reconfiguration activities, and all but two licensees (the City of El Paso and License Acquisitions) have submitted a completion certification or have been deemed by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (“PSHSB”) to have completed rebanding.”
With the City of El Paso completing its infrastructure reconfiguration on Feb. 25, all 800 MHz public-safety systems have finished the physical-retuning aspect of rebanding, according to the TA filing. Acceptance of the system and associated administrative work for the El Paso system is expected be done in early June, “which is three months ahead of the schedule” in the city’s rebanding contract, the TA filing states.
License Acquisitions is the only incumbent 800 MHz licensee that still needs to complete the rebanding process. As part of its license-renewal application in May 2011, License Acquisitions asked the FCC to waive its requirement to offer ESMR service by the end of the license term and its obligation to complete the rebanding process. Almost 10 years later, the License Acquisitions matter is still pending before the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, according to the TA.
“In accordance with guidance from the PSHSB that in declaring a NPSPAC region complete the TA need not take notice of dormant licenses held by License Acquisitions in the non-ESMR portion of the 800 MHz band, the TA certified that band reconfiguration is complete in NPSPAC Regions 4, 34, 40, 49, 52, and 53, where License Acquisitions held such licenses,” the TA notice states.
Filed with the TA early this month, this TA notice marks the near-conclusion to a process started in the late 1990s, when users of public-safety land-mobile-radio (LMR) systems began noticing interference from cellular networks. The vast majority of this interference came from Nextel Communications, which operated on spectrum interleaved with public-safety airwaves in the 800 MHz.
Many key players in the 800 rebanding effort expressed relief that the process that was expected to be finished more than a decade ago is finally being deemed as complete.
“It’s been a long haul, over 20 years,” Harlin McEwen, a longtime public-safety-communications user and advocate, said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “I remember being there when the FCC took action to move the process forward and was engaged in many, many meetings and discussions over the ensuing years to get this done, … so I’m really glad that it’s now with.”
Alan Tilles, a lawyer who represented many licensees during the rebanding effort, echoed this sentiment.
“We are delighted that a process that we started back in the early 2000s has finally come to an end,” Tilles said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “It has taken far longer as was far more difficult than it should have been.”
In an effort to resolve the 800 MHz interference issues, officials for Nextel and public safety agreed in the early 2000s on the structure of a “consensus plan” that would consolidate all of the Nextel spectrum and consolidate the airwaves supporting the land-mobile-radio (LMR) systems used by public-safety and enterprise licensees.
The FCC adopted most of the key tenets of this plan in the summer of 2004, but its 800 MHz rebanding plan called for Nextel to pay all costs associated with the spectrum-reconfiguration effort, whereas the “consensus plan” would have capped Nextel’s financial obligation at less than $1 billion. Rebanding has cost more than $3.6 billion, according to multiple financial reports.
Sprint paid for virtually all of the 800 MHz rebanding work, after announcing its merger with Nextel in December 2004—months after the FCC issued its rebanding order. Sprint merged with T-Mobile in a deal that closed in April 2020, when almost all rebanding payments had been made.
In January 2005, officials for the newly formed TA unveiled a three-year schedule to reconfigure the 800 MHz band that called for most of the project to be completed in the summer of 2008—a timetable that was met with skepticism by many in the public-safety community at the time. The schedule for LMR systems located near the U.S.-Mexico border was unknown in 2005, because there was no visibility about how long it would take to reach a treaty agreement with Mexico on the matter, which ultimately delayed work for years.
While many of the non-border business/industrial licensees were able to complete their rebanding efforts fairly close to dates outlined in the TA schedule, things did not proceed as smoothly with public-safety licensees.
Unlike many businesses that can schedule downtime to complete such work, public-safety systems had to remain operational throughout the rebanding effort, which complicated technical work. In addition, work on public-safety systems typically require the approval of government entities—in some cases, multiple government entities—which often added time and expense to the process.
Meanwhile, some 800 rebanding negotiations between public-safety licensees and Sprint became lengthy and contentious, with the tactics of virtually all involved parties—Sprint, the TA, the FCC and licensees, as well as the lawyers and consultants representing them—being criticized at one time or another. As rebanding proceeded, many questioned the incentives surrounding negotiations, noting that several parties involved could benefit more financially and strategically by delaying the process than by resolving conflicts.
FCC Releases List of Communications Equipment and Services Raising National Security Risks
Bringing to a close the process initiated with the adoption of the Secure and Trusted Communications Act of 2019, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released its list of communications equipment and services that it has deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security. US-based service providers are prohibited from receiving federal subsidies for purchasing the listed communications equipment or services (the “Covered List”), and service providers will be given an opportunity to receive federal funds to subsidize the removal and replacement of the communications equipment and services included on the Covered List.
In particular, the following communications equipment or services are included on the Covered List, and are subject to the FCC’s implementation of the Act:
Telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment.
Telecommunications equipment produced or provided by ZTE Corporation, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment.
Video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Hytera Communications Corporation, to the extent it is used for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment.
Video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, to the extent it is used for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment.
Video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Dahua Technology Company, to the extent it is used for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment.
The FCC left open the possibility that the Covered List could be updated in the future with new communications equipment or services found to raise national security risks.
With the release of the Covered List, the FCC’s next step will be to finalize its rules for replacing the affected communications equipment and services. The FCC adopted rules in December 2020 to establish the removal and replacement program. Subsequently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provided $1.895 billion to be used for the program, and the FCC sought comment in February 2021 on its proposed rules to incorporate the funding. Once the rules are finalized, it is expected that eligible wireless and wireline service providers will move quickly to swap out the equipment and services on the Covered List.
[View source.]
Clark County authorizes contracts with Bethel, Pleasant Twp. to join 9-1-1 dispatching operations (OH)
The Board of Clark County Commissioners has authorized contracts with Bethel and Pleasant townships to join the county’s 9-1-1 dispatching center. The two townships are the first group to authorize dispatching contracts with the county after the City of Springfield...
MVECC Rolls Out ‘RapidSOS’ Feature Within Ridesharing App (NJ)
NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ - The Mountain Valley Emergency Communications Center (MVECC), a regional public safety answering point serving the communities of Summit, New Providence, and Millburn has rolled-out Uber’s In-App Emergency feature with the RapidSOS Portal...
11,000 non-life threatening 911 calls in Nashville each month prompts new campaign (TN)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Nashville 911 dispatchers are getting thousands of non-life-threatening calls every month, and a new campaign is aiming to curb this problem. Nashville’s Emergency Communications Department and Hub Nashville are trying to help people...
Emergency Medical Dispatch Class– Morris County, NJ
Next date: Tuesday, October 05, 2021 | 08:30 AM
to Friday, October 08, 2021 | 04:30 PM
PRE-REQUISITES: 9-1-1 Telecommunicator’s Training & C.P.R. Certification.
Copies of Certificates must accompany registration and be emailed to Mark Meehan.
A required course for 9-1-1 Telecommunicator. This state approved certification course will enable the student to properly answer, prioritize and dispatch calls for medical aid, and to provide instructions for preliminary emergency medical care prior to arrival of emergency medical personnel. This class will include practical exercises and demonstrations.
Class size is 25.
Conducted by the Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety Communications Division
When
Tuesday, October 05, 2021 | 08:30 AM
– Friday, October 08, 2021 | 04:30 PM
LocationMorris County Public Safety Academy, 500 West Hanover Avenue, Morristown 07963 View Map
40.8333282,-74.52680889999999
500 West Hanover Avenue ,
Morristown 07963
Morris County Public Safety Academy
500 West Hanover Avenue ,
Morristown 07963
Dispatchers say they’re seeing more mental health-related calls (IL)
A year-long global pandemic has been tough on everyone. CDC data shows increases in the number of adults who experienced anxiety and depression, substance abuse and even thought about suicide this year. We spoke to the St. Joseph County, Indiana 911 dispatch center...
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is Just around the Corner – How is your center celebrating?
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is just around the corner (April 11-17, 2021). We are thankful for the day-in-day-out hard work, professionalism and dedication of all 911 telecommunicators. According to APCO’s NPSTW website, National Public Safety...
North Vernon police chief to retire, join CRH department (IN)
After more than 27 years of service with the North Vernon Police Department, Chief James Webster announced he plans to retire on March 27. “It has been an absolute honor to serve the citizens of North Vernon for all these years," Webster said. "I began working for the...
Next Generation 9-1-1 Included in House Infrastructure Bill
The Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition recently released a press release applauding the introduction of the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act of 2021 as part of the LIFT America Act. The inclusion of Next Generation 9-1-1 in the legislation signals that Congress...
Text to 9-1-1 When Voice Doesn’t Work (CA)
Big Bear News – Big Bear, CA – Over the past several days, the Big Bear Valley has experienced inclement weather. During these times, cellular service could be interrupted. The Big Bear Fire Department would like to remind you that often times you can text to...
Stutsman County Communications Center traffic down in 2020 (ND)
The number of calls for service dispatched by the Stutsman County Communications Center continued a downward trend, according to Jerry Bergquist, emergency manager and 911 coordinator for the county. Statistics for 2020 indicate 26,521 calls for service compared to...
WA Rep. Smith proposes bill to divert funds to unarmed 911 response efforts
While state legislators are working on a series of bills to reimagine policing at the local level, Washington Rep. Adam Smith is targeting a more national approach. Police reform efforts at state level focus on accountability That came in the form of a new bill Rep....
More than 7,600 addresses in Bristol, Virginia to change due to NextGen 911
More than 7,600 addresses and 150 street segment names in Bristol, Virginia, will change due to the upcoming NextGen 911 system. The City of Bristol, Virginia has been preparing for the federal and state mandated upgrade to the upcoming NextGen 911 system. Officials...
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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