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County stops effort to contract dispatch service through Roscommon (MI)
Crawford County has abandoned its effort to contract with Roscommon County for emergency dispatch service, Sheriff Shawn M. Kraycs reported during Thursday’s online Crawford County Board of Commissioners meeting. “We’ve discontinued our effort to consolidate,” Sheriff...
Centre County in dire need of workers (PA)
BELLEFONTE — In Centre County, there is a shortage of workers. Specifically, there is a need for 911 Centre County Communications and Centre County Correctional Facility employees. Commissioner Steve Dershem brought the topic up during Tuesday’s commissioners’...
Cobb County Public Safety Department Offers Citizens Academy (GA)
MARIETTA, GA — Local residents who have an interest in the inner-workings of the Cobb County Department of Public Safety are invited to participate in the agency's annual citizens' safety academy this fall. The 13-session academy provides residents with an inside look...
NENA releases i3 standard update, seeks potentially critical ANSI approval
National Emergency Number Association (NENA) board members yesterday released the latest version of the i3 standard for next-generation 911 (NG911) infrastructure, which will be submitted to the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) for approval that could...
APCO Introduces New Course: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the ECC
The first course will be offered live at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Ga. Alexandria, VA – Today the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International announced the introduction of the Institute’s newest course for...
911 call now comes with life-saving help (VA)
Telecommunicators at the Farmville Emergency Communications Center are now able to provide 911 callers with pre-arrival instructions such as how to control bleeding, perform CPR or even assist in childbirth. According to Jackie Gilbert, emergency communications...
House Committee Earmarks $20M For NextGen Warning System
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday recommended $20 million for public broadcasting’s Next Generation Warning System within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Fiscal Year 2022 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. This...
Future of Royalston communication tower up in the air (MA)
ROYALSTON — Royalston’s Selectboard is hoping some questions regarding the communication tower off Warwick Road can be answered fairly soon, especially given that that tower is fitted with equipment that allows for communication between the town’s public safety...
AT&T : to Provide Tech Solutions for CA State and Local Agencies
AT&T Selected to Provide Connectivity Solutions for California State and Local Agencies, and Education Institutions New Technologies Including High-Capacity Broadband and FirstNet® Accessible to Public Entities Improve Communications Throughout California What's...
911 Board achieves sterling MULES review (MO)
The board of St. Francois County 911 Joint Communications resolved to continue meeting with area fire departments and EMS providers in the area to figure out improved computer-aided dispatch (CAD) services. At its meeting in June, it also discussed creating a new 3-...
Community Watch celebrates major accomplishment with statewide accreditation recognition
Community Watch in The Villages is celebrating a major accomplishment after earning statewide accreditation recognition. Last month, Assistant District Manager Carrie Duckett, Chief Nehemiah Wolfe, Assistant Director Juliane Day and Lead Dispatcher Accreditation...
Planned 911 center could reduce dispatch times across Lake County (IL)
Every second counts in an emergency, and a new proposal to dispatch first responders quicker by building a new 911 center in Libertyville aims to give police and fire personnel the time they need. The plan will be before the Lake County Board as part of the county's...
Baptist LifeFlight objects to Escambia’s system to dispatch emergency medical helicopters
Baptist LifeFlight is not happy with Escambia County using a competitor helicopter ambulance service, ShandsCair, to dispatch medical helicopters. The Escambia County Commission held off Thursday approving a formal "first call" agreement with ShandsCair to wait for...
US Cities Upgrade Their Call Centers for More Flexibility (NY)
When Buffalo, N.Y., closed its municipal buildings as part of a pandemic lockdown ın March 2020, Oswaldo Mestre had only two days to find a way to keep a vital line of communication open to residents. As the city’s director of citizen services, Mestre...
Tazewell County consolidated 911 dispatch in 2019. Why some towns just had cost increases (IL)
PEKIN – It's been a bumpy road at times getting Tazewell County Consolidated Communications up and running. Now that it has been for the past two years, some local communities are being asked to pay more to support its operation — a large enough rise for some that at...
Everbridge Announces Successful Deployment of National Public Warning System for The United Kingdom
COLCHESTER, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 12, 2021-- Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG), the global leader in critical event management ( CEM ), today announced that the company successfully deployed its Public Warning Cell Broadcast technology within three of the...
I’m a Law Enforcement First Responder. Why do I need FirstNet?
By Karl Wilmes, Chief (ret) I remember as a newly promoted Sergeant meeting with my shift of officers outside in the parking lot of a bar fight. The incident was all but over, and one of the officers called dispatch on the radio for some information on a suspect we...
What caller heard after 30 minutes on hold with 911 (OH)
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has now obtained the recording showing what a woman heard after she called 911 in Cleveland and had to wait half an hour. Earlier this week, the I-Team revealed the 30-minute 911 call. Now, a recording just...
Peplink SpeedFusion with FirstNet® MegaRange™ Keeps Public Safety Well-Connected and …
VILNIUS, Lithuania, July 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Peplink and Assured Wireless have teamed together to create a FirstNet MegaRange™ solution that combines Peplink’s SpeedFusion technology with Assured Wireless’ High Power User Equipment (HPUE), allowing first responders to protect mission-critical applications, visualize and manage their wireless connections. FirstNet is the only network where public safety can take advantage of the highest power class signaling available in the U.S. with FirstNet MegaRange™, the HPUE solution exclusively available on Band 14. HPUE boosts transmission power up to 6x over traditional LTE equipment, which vastly improves cellular coverage in remote regions, rural areas, maritime environments, and metropolitan areas where cellular signal penetration through buildings and underground structures can be challenging – helping first responders communicate inside and out. Peplink’s SpeedFusion bonds bandwidth and coverage of private and commercial networks to ensure seamless switching among FirstNet, AT&T commercial LTE, private Wi-Fi, satellite, or other technologies without session loss. This allows public safety users to intelligently manage cost, security and ensure applications are automatically protected. Assured Wireless’ AW12 MegaRange™ modem is integrated with Peplink’s InControl2 management system. From a single screen, the coverage strength, network settings and each parameter of the HPUE modems can be fully visualized and managed. InControl2 also comes with universal GPS integration and supports API integration, so that CAD and other systems can be updated in real time. Keith Chau, Peplink’s General Manager said: “Data is increasingly generated at the mobile edge of the network, and resiliency at the edge becomes highly important. We are thrilled to be part of an integrated solution to provide unbreakable connectivity to help first responders save lives.” “Thanks to our collaboration with Peplink, we have a world class partner to deliver our standards based HPUE technology to the marketplace,” said John Goocher, CEO of Assured Wireless Corporation. “The integration with Peplink offers unique value to first responders and delivers leading edge coverage enhancements wherever their mission takes them.” See how Peplink enables new possibilities or leave a message at marketing@peplink.com to learn more. FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. FirstNet is built with AT&T in public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) – an independent agency within the federal government. About PeplinkPeplink is the leader in SD-WAN solutions. Peplink’s SD-WAN routers and SpeedFusion technology help thousands of customers from many industries increase bandwidth, enhance Internet reliability, and reduce costs. Our complete product line includes models for businesses of all sizes and opens up new deployment possibilities for customers. About Assured WirelessAssured Wireless Corporation was founded to deliver mission critical wireless communications solutions for the most demanding environments including police departments, fire and rescue agencies and the wide spectrum of emergency services organizations and critical enterprises.
New Texas Law To Train 911 Dispatchers To Help Passersby Administer CPR
Each year, more than 350,000 heart attacks occur outside of hospitals. The American Heart Association says the chances of a person surviving a heart attack without medical attention are not good – only one in ten people survive. The AHA has led efforts to expand CPR...
UPCOMING WEBINARREGISTER>
FirstNet Independence: A governance case study
Thursday, February 19, 2026
1:30 PM PT | 2:30 PM MT | 3:30 PM CT | 4:30 PM ET
As we are near the time Congress must reauthorize FirstNet, there needs to be a discussion on the review of FirstNet Governance. Join former FirstNet Board Chairs Sue Swenson, Chief Richard Carrizzo, and former Vice-Chair Chief Jeff Johnson, as they discuss the value of an independent FirstNet Authority, program oversight, and the need to protect and advance the nation’s public safety network.
The creation of the FirstNet Authority marked a deliberate and historic policy decision by Congress to establish an independent, nationwide public-safety broadband authority insulated from traditional departmental control. Born out of the lessons of 9/11 and codified in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, FirstNet was designed to operate with a singular mission: to ensure reliable, interoperable communications for the nation’s first responders. The discussion will examine the governance structure, rationale for its statutory independence, and oversight model.
Reauthorization SurveyMORE>
PSBTA Releases Survey on First Responder Support for FirstNet Reauthorization
New Survey: First Responders Overwhelmingly Support Reauthorization of FirstNet
A new bipartisan national survey commissioned by the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association finds near- unanimous support among first responders for reauthorizing the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority)– the agency overseeing America’s dedicated public safety broadband network.
PETITIONSMORE>
Congress should reauthorize the FirstNet Authority now.
Support the reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority to preserve public safety’s network
PSBTA UpdatesMORE>
Podcast
FirstNet and the 4.9 GHz Spectrum
This episode dives into the critical evolution of public safety communications, focusing on the recent FCC decision to establish a nationwide Band Manager framework for the 4.9 GHz spectrum, and discuss the evolution and deployment of the FirstNet System. Host Chris Tubbs interviews Chief Jeff Johnson, a leader in public safety technology and the development of FirstNet. Together, they explore the history, governance, and transformative potential of FirstNet and the 4.9 GHz spectrum in enhancing public safety operations with emerging technologies like AI, 5G, and augmented reality. The discussion emphasizes the importance of protecting and optimizing public safety spectrum, the lessons learned from past advocacy efforts, and a call to action for public safety leaders to remain engaged in ensuring the spectrum’s effective use and governance.
LISTEN TO PODCAST
Public Sector GrantsMORE>
Webinar
Accessing Federal Resources When an Emergency or Major Disaster Strikes
In light of the major disasters that our nation has recently experienced, PS Grants is offering this FREE webinar to review Disaster Assistance Programs and how to access them. Learn what federal funds and resources are available through Disaster Assistance, understand the process of requesting assistance, know what to expect before, during, and after, and find out who to contact for help.
REGISTER
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