NG-911 Spending Less Than 7% of Total 911 Fees, Says FCC
Next-generation 911 spending was nearly $200 million, less than 7 percent of total 911 fees collected, with 35 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia reporting such programs in 2017, the FCC reported Wednesday. Sixteen states said they deployed…
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statewide emergency services IP networks (ESInets), 13 reported regional ESInets and 11 said they had local-level ESInets. Respondents said 1,381 public safety answering points were text-capable by the end of 2017 and projected another 1,103 PSAPs would be by year-end 2018. The District and 15 states spent funding on PSAP cybersecurity in 2017, but 30 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported they didn’t. States diverted nearly 10 percent of $2.9 billion in 911 fee revenue for unrelated purposes in 2017. For the first time, every jurisdiction responded for this year’s report, so some exact comparisons may not be possible. The FCC flagged Montana, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, West Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands as responsible for the $285 million in diverted revenue. Representatives for them didn't comment. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly shined a light on the problem. O’Rielly is pleased all responded, saying moving money "short-changes call centers and prevents necessary upgrades.” While NG-911 expenditures are low, that most states have those programs is “a step in the right direction in realizing that we do need to deploy” it, National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes told us. He expects states participating to rise further this year, noting California’s recent request for proposals and Utah’s RFP a few months ago. PSAP cybersecurity spending is “unfortunately” not universal, the NENA chief said: There’s “a lot of work to be done” there.