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.
FCC Adopts Rules to Improve Wireless 9-1-1 Routing
On January 25, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules to require wireless carriers to implement location-based routing, which entails routing 9-1-1 calls based on the location of the caller instead of the cell tower transmitting the call.
Ex Parte: Next Generation 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Location Accuracy, Location-Based Routing (Chairwoman Rosenworcel)
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.
Regulatory Update from APCO’s Chief Counsel at APCO 2022
On August 7, during APCO’s Annual Conference, Chief Counsel, Jeff Cohen, provided the following report on APCO’s advocacy efforts at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).