FCC on the Verge of a Major Setback to 9-1-1 Location Accuracy

By Jeff Cohen This Friday, the FCC will vote on new rules that are supposed to ensure that first responders can locate someone who calls 9-1-1 from inside a multi-story building.  Unfortunately, the rules will not only fail to produce meaningful improvements, the FCC will let wireless carriers continue to avoid pursuing much better options […]

APCO’s Advocacy Priorities for 2024

Today, February 16, is the 56th anniversary of the first 9-1-1 call. Much has changed in the past 56 years, particularly with regard to training, technology, and the nature of the work performed by 9-1-1 professionals. What has remained constant is the dedication, professionalism, and perseverance of the 9-1-1 community and APCO’s commitment to ensuring 9-1-1 professionals have the tools and resources they need. APCO’s legislative and regulatory priorities reflect this devotion to its members and are aimed at advancing the industry and empowering 9-1-1 to save more lives.

APCO International’s Public Safety Communications Priorities for the New Year

By Jeff Cohen In 2020, public safety communications professionals faced an extraordinary year, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, record-breaking natural disasters, and major civil unrest, in addition to their “routine” work protecting and saving lives. From an advocacy perspective, 2020 was a mixed bag. We witnessed some progress with federal legislation, but there’s a lot […]

APCO’s Regulatory Priorities for 2023

The following is a list of APCO’s regulatory priorities for the coming year. As a general matter, APCO’s advocacy is driven by the best interests of our public safety members. That means we’re often arguing for a regulatory approach that: avoids shifting costs from service providers to ECCs; ensures that information being delivered to ECCs will best serve the operational needs of 9-1-1 professionals; and when it comes to spectrum, protects public safety users from interference and new costs.