Today, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced the LIFT America Act, an infrastructure bill that includes $15 billion for the deployment and implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) throughout the country. The NG9-1-1 provisions (section 15001) adhere to principles established by APCO and its partners in the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 […]
Forming the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition
Looking back at 2020, one of the bright spots for APCO was joining with other leading public safety associations to advocate for legislation that would establish a significant one-time federal grant program to achieve Next Generation 9‑1‑1 (NG9‑1‑1) nationwide. Following months of collaboration between various public safety associations and congressional staff, the Next Generation 9-1-1 […]
Project 43: Broadband Implications for the PSAP
VoIP and SIP Trunking
Federal Report Estimates Extent of Interoperability Challenges for 9-1-1
This won’t come as news to anyone working in public safety communications, but 9-1-1 faces significant interoperability challenges. While ECCs are generally able to transfer basic voice 9-1-1 calls to neighboring ECCs, they often cannot share other types of communications and data important for emergency response.
2020 Legislative Priorities
By Jeff Cohen We just started a new year, but there are only a few months left to achieve a number of public safety legislative objectives before Congress enters into election mode. Click on the topics listed below to read background info and talking points for raising these matters, especially if you have plans to […]
What Does Interoperable Mean in the Real World?
This article focuses primarily on communication tools such as land mobile radio (LMR) and computer aided dispatch (CAD) in addition to illustrating the overall need for an interoperability-based approach to any communications technologies intended for use by public safety.
Achieving the True Promise of Next Generation 9-1-1
9-1-1 is part of America’s critical infrastructure, but it profoundly lags behind in technology. Public safety communications professionals across the country deserve to have the best tools available to protect and save lives. Next Generation 9-1-1 promises to deliver many benefits, including putting 9-1-1 on par with technology used in the commercial sector, which for […]
