Urgent Communications Home Page

911 telecommunicators are ‘ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’

Jun. 18, 2013

Activity in the 911 center depicted in the movie "The Call"--starring Halle Berry--are reasonably accurate, according to officials from the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). Those who see the movie learn that communications in a public-safety answering point (PSAP) is critical and that...

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Latest Multimedia

Latest Headlines

Jun. 19, 2013

video

Cassidian developing ESINet solution for next-gen 911

UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff stopped by Cassidian’s exhibit at this week’s National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C., to learn about a new ESINet platform that the company is developing and hopes to complete within 2-3 years....More

Jun. 19, 2013

Video

Urgent Communications

Motorola demos console for real-time video

UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff stopped by Motorola Solution’s exhibit at this week’s National Emergency Number Association conference in Charlotte, N.C., to learn about a new real-time intelligence console that integrates a wide variety of data feeds....More

Jun. 19, 2013

video

TCS unveils portable dispatch solution

Jim West, TeleCommunication Systems' (TCS) senior director of engineering for government systems, speaks with UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff, about a new portable dispatch solution the company unveiled this week at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C....More

Jun. 18, 2013

Video

Urgent Communications

Priority Dispatch announces platform enhancements

Mike Thompson, fire and EMS consultant for Priority Dispatch, speaks with UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff, about several new enhancements to the company’s platforms that will be released later this year, during this week’s National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C....More

Jun. 18, 2013

Video

Urgent Communications

Intrado talks about HF offering

Monica Marics, senior vice president for Intrado, speaks with UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff, about the company’s new HF radio system, during this week’s National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C....More

Jun. 18, 2013

Video

Urgent Communications

Zetron unveils new tablet device

Juan Salazar, product manager for Zetron, speaks with UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff about a new tablet device built on the company’s Max call-taking platform, during this week’s National Emergency Number Association conference in Charlotte, N.C....More

Jun. 18, 2013

Video

Urgent Communications

ModUcom intros 911 tablet, apps

Ira Gore, director of national sales for ModUcom, speaks with UC Editor-in-Chief Glenn Bischoff, about the company’s new tablet device, as well as new text and video capabilities targeted to the hearing-impaired community, during this week’s National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C....More

Jun. 17, 2013

Article

Urgent Communications

PSAPs find text-to-911 transition relatively straightforward

Adding text-to-911 functionality to public-safety answering points (PSAPs) has proven helpful without being particularly difficult or burdensome, according to officials for two 911 centers that have been receiving emergency text communications via solutions provided by Intrado....More

Jun. 17, 2013

Commentary

Text to 911: We can't afford to wait 3

With the hard-of-hearing community turning to texting as a primary means of communication, text-to-911 services need to be developed and deployed as quickly as possible....More

Jun. 17, 2013

Commentary

Standards will be critical for text-to-911 services

As public safety agencies face the imminent implementation of text-to-911 capabilities, the role of industry standards becomes essential....More

Jun. 17, 2013

Next-gen 911 system from Intrado helps Vermont weather Hurricane Irene

On August 28, 2011—amid the chaos, devastation and destruction of Hurricane Irene—Vermont’s 911 emergency communications service stood steadfast with help from its next-generation 911 emergency services network deployed by Intrado....More

Jun. 13, 2013

Commentary

Yet another 911 funding tale of woe 2

New Jersey residents generate $130 million annually to support the state's 911 system--yet allegedly none of the money makes it to the county level. This is more evidence that the 911 sector's funding model needs a major overhaul....More

Jun. 12, 2013

News

Urgent Communications

FirstNet grants extension for BTOP recipients

Entities have through July 12 to complete spectrum-lease negotiations; meanwhile, the deadline to spend grant money also is expected to be pushed back one year to September 2015....More

Jun. 12, 2013

Commentary

Band 14 in every cellular device? 3

Including the band in every wireless device--phones, tablet computers, electric meters and more--should dramatically reduce the cost of chipsets, potentially create new funding mechanisms, and provide public officials with a vital alerting resource in emergencies that they don't have today....More

Jun. 11, 2013

Commentary

Global ecosystem for public-safety LTE begins to look realistic 2

The prospect of a global public-safety standard could have a massive impact on pricing for equipment and applications, if managed correctly....More

Jun. 10, 2013

News

Urgent Communications

FirstNet special committee takes initial steps, readies for Fitzgerald interview

Two subcommittees were formed, one to look into openness and transparency concerns, and another to examine conflict-of-interest allegations. FirstNet chairman Sam Ginn has vowed to implement committee recommendations, "whatever they are."...More

Jun. 10, 2013

Article

Urgent Communications

Increasingly, failure to take tower safety seriously could lead to jail

Criminal and civil cases largely hinge on whether the tower owner/operator willfully violated OSHA standards and, as a result, created an unsafe environment for workers....More

Jun. 6, 2013

News

Urgent Communications

UK seeks to replace TETRA with LTE as early as 2016 4

Official says cost, not performance is the issue, and calls TETRA "extremely expensive" compared with the per-minute costs of commercial wireless air time....More

Jun. 6, 2013

Article

Urgent Communications

Video-interpretation service helps hospital improve patient care

Service can be accessed via any smartphone or tablet connected to the hospital's broadband network; currently, interpretation is provided for four languages, plus American sign language....More

Jun. 5, 2013

News

Urgent Communications

FirstNet approves expanded budget, new leadership structure 1

Authorized spending would increase to $20 miliion for FY2013, and paid staff will be hired; general manager Bill D'Agostino hopes to have his "leadership team" in place by September....More

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