NG-911 Transition Requires Congress to Act, Witnesses to Tell House
Congress should consider hitching Next-Generation 911 legislation to the $1 trillion infrastructure package under discussion this session, West Safety Services Vice President Mary Boyd plans to testify Wednesday on behalf of the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCert). Her advocacy echoes what key Senate Democrats have said this year, a growing push that goes beyond the telecom debate about including broadband funding (see 1702280062). Witnesses plan to tell the House Communications Subcommittee of the needs of NG-911 in funding and legislative tweaks, with significant attention on the i3 standard that the National Emergency Number Association worked on.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
“Any discussion of a larger infrastructure effort would be incomplete if it did not include an NG911 initiative at its core,” Boyd is to say. Congress “could provide additional Federal funding support to assist states and localities in upgrading to and implementing NG911 systems and services,” assistance that’s critical, she adds. “Federal legislation could also promote more effective implementation of NG911 by requiring that Federal funds be made available in accordance with grant guidelines that are designed to support important national objectives.”
“Congress should accelerate NG9-1-1 deployment by making a one-time investment in the capital infrastructure and transition costs of NG9-1-1 systems at the state and local levels,” NENA Director-Governmental Affairs Trey Forgety plans to say.
Witnesses will note the importance of harmonizing the NG-911 transition with FirstNet’s system. “Citizens reporting an emergency could improve public safety using video, pictures or other data which can be processed and delivered to the PSAP using NG911 standards,” Indiana Statewide 911 Board Executive Director Barry Ritter is to testify of public safety answering points. “A FirstNet connected PSAP could then relay this same information to, and receive from first responders, data to improve service.” He advises Indiana’s Integrated Public Safety Commission, which is engaged on FirstNet.
“Federal guidance tied to funding can also ensure that there is both effective and efficient integration of NG911 systems with the nationwide public safety broadband network being implemented by” FirstNet, Boyd plans to testify, saying NG-911 and FirstNet aren't substitutes for one another.
NENA worked with iCert and others to “develop the architectural framework and standards blueprint for NG911,” known as i3, Boyd will say. She notes that standard is “still evolving” but is “detailed” and robust enough “that systems, products, and services using the i3 standard are widely available in the U.S. today, as well as in Canada and Europe where i3 has been welcomed.”
“Require any federally-provided assistance to be linked to a NENA i3 NG 911 solution,” Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center Director Walt Magnussen will testify. He recommends states form oversight agencies on the process and coordination internationally, too. “Recent efforts involving the 911 International Border Coalition have been focused on calls being routed to a PSAP in the wrong country for international visitors in close proximity to the border,” he is to testify. “An estimated 100,000 calls per year are routed to the wrong country initially on the U.S. Mexican border alone.”
“Now undergoing its second major expansion and revision, the i3 standard leverages common technologies and global standards from the internet era,” Forgety will say. “This opens-up the 9-1-1 space to significant innovation by device manufacturers, application developers, communications platform providers, and public safety systems vendors.”