NENA SHIFTS E911 FOCUS TO NATIONAL COORDINATION CENTER
The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) is pushing a new angle in efforts to get stalled Enhanced 911 (E911) legislation through Congress. Seizing on the interest in new services like VoIP, NENA is presenting the case that E911 legislation is essential because it would establish a National Coordinating Office in the federal govt. That office would help integrate 911 services to VoIP and other new services, like Wi-Fi and Blackberries, said NENA Govt. Affairs Dir. Stephen Seitz. The national coordination office was the top priority cited in a document NENA delivered to Congress last week, ahead of funding.
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Funding has divided Congress and is potentially stalling the bill in the Senate. While the House has passed HR-2898, Rep. Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) bill that would deliver $100 million yearly to states for E911, the Senate hasn’t taken up S-1250, Sen. Burns’ (R-Mont.) legislation that would devote $500 million in funding. The difference in funding, along with a Congress wary of new spending measures, has apparently stalled the bill, industry and congressional sources have said, though one source said it was more a matter of timing in the busy Senate than funding. But Seitz said NENA was trying to take the focus away from funding and turn it toward the coordinating office. “Right now, we need the coordination office even more than funding,” Seitz said: “Money is not the issue. Grants are going to happen at some point.”
The NENA document cites the Oct. 2002 report for the FCC on 911 by telecom consultant Dale Hatfield. NENA said the need for a national coordination office was a “principle finding” of the report. And while HR-2989 would terminate the office in 2008, NENA argued that it should be a permanent office. “Armed with granting authority, the National Coordination ‘Office’ will be an asset to state and local 9- 1-1 organizations alike, helping ensure objectivity, timely information, and improved standards and planning for our nation’s 911 system,” the document said. “The national Office provides immediate perspective, and in some cases, one-stop shopping for technical assistance, trouble-shooting, and fostering needed dialogue on all issues arising from E911 implementation.”
The House and Senate have different formulas for coordinating and administering E911 funds. HR-2898 would create a coordination office in the Dept. of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). While the bill originally proposed that NTIA get the coordination office, sources said NTIA isn’t as experienced with distributing funds as is NHTSA. But S-1250 would let the NTIA distribute the funds. However, the bill doesn’t create a coordination office and instead would rely on a task force that includes the Departments. of Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation and the FCC, as well as local and state public officials.
While NENA is shifting focus away from funding, the document does still urge funding for 911. The General Accounting Office (GAO) has estimated it would take $7 billion to completely upgrade the nation’s 911 system to phase 2 E911, which would allow Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to determine an approximate location of a cell phone caller. But Seitz said it’s difficult to know exactly how much funding is needed -- a task that a coordination office could help determine. The NENA document emphasized that 911 systems need modernization. “Our nation’s 911 system is far too often behind the many technological advances of recent decades,” NENA said. “It is time to bring to bear the funding for improved emergency response and security up to par with the needs of our nation and the citizen in dialing 911.”