Technology Exists for Disabled to Access 9-1-1, say FCC Panelists: June 13, 2011
Washington, DC - While a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) advisory panel focused on increasing access to emergency services by individuals with disabilities said before new devices are developed there needs to be a market for those devices, another member urged augmenting iPads and other wireless devices which are already selling.
E911 surcharge falls short of target: June 13, 2011
Petersburg, AK - A system that helps locate the source of 9-1-1 calls in Petersburg is due for replacement next year. The enhanced 9-1-1 system helps emergency dispatchers locate callers, and is funded in part by a dollar-a-month phone bill surcharge implemented two years ago. But the city may have to find more funding in order to keep the service working.
Decorah to construct communications tower: June 13, 2011
Decorah, Iowa - A 80-foot communications tower will go up behind City Hall in an effort to enhance emergency communications throughout Winneshiek County. Members of the City Council recently approved an agreement with the Winneshiek County E911 Service Board.
Scroggins appointed to E911 board: June 13, 2011
Columbiana, AL - The Shelby County Commission this morning appointed Chad Scroggins to the county's E-911 board. Scroggins' appointment is effective immediately, as current board member Robert Kelley's term expires this month.
Pop VoIP Brings VoIP Telephone Awareness to Small-to-Medium Sized Businesses with New Pew Usage Research: June 13, 2011
Reacting to a recent VoIP usage study by Pew Research Center, Pop VoIP is presenting its affordable VoIP telephone service to the 75% of adult internet users that have not yet tried VoIP.
Dispatchers Should be Managed as More Than Just Telecommunicators: June 13, 2011
PA - In October 2003, Michael Michalski was working as a 911 dispatcher at the Northwest Regional Communications center in Allegheny County, Pa., when his obsession with an ex-girlfriend turned deadly. According to court documents, Michalski used his position to surreptitiously search the center's computer network to determine the whereabouts of Gretchen Ferderbar and her current boyfriend, Mark Phillips. Michalski's supervisor became aware of the searches and suspended him. The suspension, however, was deferred and Michalski remained on the job for another week, continuing his illicit inquiries.
Verizon customers experience 911 call disruptions: June 13, 2011
Raleigh, NC - The Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center reports Verizon callers have had difficulty connecting with the 911 center. The calls connect without voice audio. ECC telecommunicators treat these as hang-up calls and make attempts to return the calls when an accurate telephone number has been obtained.
911 consolidation, construction projects on tap for Havelock board: June 13, 2011
Havelock, NC - Havelock commissioners face a busy Monday with several key items scheduled to be discussed at their meeting at Havelock City Hall. The board is expected to be briefed on a report detailing possible consolidation of 911 call centers among Havelock, New Bern and Craven County. City officials are concerned with proposed mandates from the state that they say could lead to expensive changes to Havelock's 911 operations.
Pittsylvania working to upgrade its E911 system: June 12, 2011
Pittsylvania, VA - County officials hope to sign a deal to upgrade its E911 system by September. Pittsylvania County has received proposals from 13 vendors, and Emergency Services Coordinator Jim Davis said the next step is to review them and narrow them down to two or three candidates by July.
AT&T, Charter sued over 911 phone woes: June 12, 2011
Tennessee - Tennessee businesses could end up paying higher phone bills depending upon the outcome of a federal lawsuit. Davidson and Lincoln counties filed suit against AT&T and Charter Communications claiming the two companies did not charge their business customers enough of the fees that are used to support 911 systems in their counties.
Douglas County emergency dispatchers juggle hundreds of calls every day: June 11, 2011
Douglas County, KS - On any given day, dispatchers may have to answer calls using their hands, headsets or feet. Depending on the volume of calls, the chatter among the at least three dispatchers can become distracting.
Freeholders agree to $32M for new 911 center: June 11, 2011
Freehold, NJ - The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders agreed to spend nearly $32 million for a new public safety communications system as well as the software, cell towers and radio transmission equipment needed to support the system for the county's proposed 9-1-1 Communications Center.
New 911 system shares details with rescuers in Texas: June 11, 2011
Dallas, TX - Now even the ubiquitous 911 call is going high-tech. With most 911 calls, the only information operators get is the phone number, type of phone used to make the call, an address if the call was made on a landline or a latitude-longitude location if it's from a cellphone. But a new service, known as Smart911, allows operators to instantly see a host of critical and detailed lifesaving information about the caller such as allergies, prescribed medications, language preferences, even photos of pets and more.
Cape Lawmakers Support EMS Dispatch Funding: June 10, 2011
Falmouth, MA - The push is on to establish a defined and sustainable funding source for the state's Centralized Emergency Medical Dispatch (CMED) systems, but it is highly unlikely that will happen in time for the Barnstable County Sheriff's Department to avoid another year of covering costs itself.
Mercury News interview: Jay Elliot, Nuvel founder; former Apple exec: June 10, 2011
Silicon Valley, CA - ...So I said, we need to emulate this on a smartphone, which we've done with an app called vSOS. It connects you straight to an emergency call center in Houston and they know your profile information and exact location and can immediately call you back and get you the help you need...
911 call centers may lose millions in state funding: June 10, 2011
Austin, TX - As the Texas Legislature began a special session May 31 to tweak the state budget, the cities of West Lake Hills and Lakeway stand to lose $5.5 million in funding to their 911 call centers.
Dispatch funding model will remain-for now: June 10, 2011
Sun Valley, ID - Concerns over the accuracy of emergency-call data led Blaine County commissioners to delay for at least a year a switch to a calls-for-service-based funding method.
9-1-1 Reality Training Station: June 10, 2011
Sue Pivetta knows for certain there are many ways to learn 9-1-1. As the instructor of a 630 hour college vocational 9-1-1 course she found out quickly how to be creative, she had to!
Anonymous donor offers $15,000 to fund reverse 911 notification system: June 10, 2011
Silver City, NM - Grant County could have a reverse 911 emergency system in place before the end of the month if all goes well, thanks to an anonymous donor who has offered $15,000 to the Grant County Dispatch Authority to purchase the program.
Colleges Now Offering Education in Disaster: June 9, 2011
New Paltz, NY - ...Their undergraduate minor is among scores of programs on emergency management and disaster response that have sprung up across the country in recent years at the same unflagging pace as the catastrophes that have inspired them. Just as earlier waves of college students were molded by long-running conflicts like the cold war, today's undergraduates have confronted an abundance of sudden, free-ranging calamity, both natural and not.
Enhanced 911 service for mobile phones on the way: June 9, 2011
Bartlesvile, OK - Members of the Bartlesville City Council during their regular meeting on Monday approved a contract with AT&T to provide a service that will allow police officers or emergency personnel to locate cell phones used to dial 911.
Leander, Taylor, Elgin and Lakeway get partial 911 funding: June 9, 2011
Texas - Following a smaller reduction than expected, the Capital Area Council of Governments approved partial funding June 8 for half of the public safety answering points that could have otherwise lost their connection to the region's 911 system this August.
Senate committee approves Hutchison plan for nationwide wireless network for emergencies: June 9, 2011
Washington, DC - A Senate panel Wednesday took the first steps toward building a nationwide communications network for first responders, a long-sought goal first suggested by the 9/11 Commission. Police officers, firefighters and first responders were impaired when responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina because their communication devices were not able to connect during the emergencies. If passed, the bill would have broadcasters auction off unused spectrum to help fund an a public safety network, called the "D-block," that would remedy the current communication concerns.
Proposed Extension of Part 4 of the Commission's Rules Regarding Outage Reporting to Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol Service Providers and Broadband Internet Service Providers: June 9, 2011
SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to seek comment on a proposal to extend the Commission's communications outage reporting requirements to interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers and broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This action will help ensure that our current and future 9-1-1 systems are as reliable and resilient as possible and assist our Nation's preparedness for man-made or natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.
Commissioners adding staff to shorthanded E911 system: June 8, 2011
Chesterton, IN - The Porter County Commissioners agreed to add eight dispatching positions for the county's E911 system. The county's system has been overworked since the dispatching duties were consolidated due to budget concerns.
City of Boston Modernizes Emergency Response with Intergraph® Incident Management Solution: June 8, 2011
Boston, MA - The City of Boston, Massachusetts, in partnership with the City's Police, Fire and Emergency Services, has acquired Intergraph® public safety computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and mobile dispatch to update the city's incident response technology.
Chiefs look to take 911 up a notch: June 7, 2011
Pauls Valley, OK - Police chiefs from all over Garvin County joined forces Monday in what could be a first step toward taking the county's 911 emergency phone service up one very big notch.
New chief: Chicagoans must be weaned from calling 911 with non-emergencies: June 7, 2011
Chicago, IL - Mayor Rahm Emanuel's choice to run Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications vowed Tuesday to usher in a "cultural change" in 911 dispatching to free police officers to respond to the most serious crimes. At his City Council confirmation hearing, Gary Schenkel said it's high time that Chicago alter an outdated dispatch policy that sends police officers to respond to 70 percent of 911 calls, compared to 30 percent in other major cities.
SCOG will operate countywide 911 center: June 7, 2011
Canton, OH - Discussions about creating a single operation that would handle all of the 911 and emergency calls in Stark County always assumed that a countywide board, not any single community, would operate the countywide 911 dispatch center.
School Administrators Unaware of Enhanced 911 Solutions, Survey Finds: June 6, 2011
National - A recent survey of school administrators and IT directors revealed a lack of awareness of the need for enhanced 911 (E911) systems in schools. In the survey of 100 K-12 and university administrators and IT directors, 40 respondents said their school is currently using an E911 system. Such a system allows dispatchers to trace the exact location of a call to direct emergency responders to a person in need.
Governor Hickenlooper to Sign Interoperable Communications Bill: June 6, 2011
Highlands Ranch, CO - Governor John Hickenlooper will sign a new bill on Friday that ensures schools will have quick and reliable communication with first responders. Senate Bill 11-173, "Interoperable Communications in Schools," is the first in the nation to envision statewide interoperability that includes all schools. The measure was introduced by Senator Steve King.
Vermont goes online with 911 system that could eventually take texted calls for help: June 6, 2011
Montpelier, VT - State officials say a newly installed 911 emergency call system that will someday allow people to seek help with a text message or video is up and running.
How 911 ETC is Helping Users Comply with State-Level Policies: June 6, 2011
National - Twenty-two states currently have E911 legislation enacted or pending, requiring organizations over a certain size to purchase a newPBX ( News - Alert) to deploy E911 for the safety of individuals, and 911 ETC is dedicated to addressing the industry's E911 needs.
Southeast completes 9-1-1 consolidation feasibility study: June 2, 2011
Boston, MA - The southeast region has completed a major milestone in an emergency dispatch consolidation study. Public safety representatives from area communities have been working with a team of consultants from GeoComm to investigate the feasibility of consolidating multiple police/ fire/emergency medical services dispatch operations into a regional communications center.
New 911 agency under consideration: June 2, 2011
Tacoma, WA - The city of Tacoma is working to assemble a future public safety communications system, tentatively called South Sound 911.
9-1-1 Industry Alliance to Host National Workshop on 9-1-1 Overload: June 1, 2011
Arlington, VA - The 9-1-1 Industry Alliance (9IA) today announced it will host a national workshop on 9-1-1 overload on October 4-5, 2011, at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center in Washington, D.C. Public safety decision-makers and government officials are being invited to engage in a national dialog on this important problem, which affects people in need of help due to incidents ranging from routine emergencies to major disasters.
911 emergency service comes to the sky: June 1, 2011
National - Airline passengers will soon be safer and more secure when airlines begin deploying a 911 emergency call service aboard commercial aircraft. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that InFlight Labs, which developed air-to-ground communication services for passengers using Wi-Fi, announced they will deploy a new "Inflight Emergency-911 Service" that will help airline pilots and staff alert up to 100 government agencies or emergency personnel simultaneously in the event of an in-flight crisis, according to the Chronicle article.
TCS Gets Six Patents Related to Public Safety and E9-1-1 Technology: June 1, 2011
National - A provider of secure mobile communication technology, TeleCommunication Systems has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company, six patents related to public safety and E9-1-1 technology.
Missouri House Bill No. 750:
Missouri - To repeal sections 190.430 and 190.440, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to wireless enhanced 911 service.
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