FCC Chairman Wheeler says Congress should help fund next-gen 911 rollout, mapping and cybersecurity resources
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- FCC Chairman Wheeler says Congress should help fund next-gen 911 rollout, mapping and cybersecurity resources
- FCC Chairman Wheeler says Congress should help fund next-gen 911 rollout, mapping and cybersecurity resources
- FCC Chairman Wheeler says Congress should help fund next-gen 911 rollout, mapping and cybersecurity resources
FCC Chairman Wheeler says Congress should help fund next-gen 911 rollout, mapping and cybersecurity resources
Wheeler noted that the FCC has established the Task Force on Optimal Public-Safety Answering Point Architecture (TFOPA) to provide best-practices guidelines for implementing NG911, but he acknowledged that “the fact remains that the FCC can only do so much to help you tackle the NG911 transition.“
With this in mind, Wheeler said that he wants to work with Congress to develop legislation that will amend 20-year-old 911 laws “in a way that reflects the changing realities on the ground.”
From a funding standpoint, Wheeler called for laws that to prevent the practice of states from taking revenue from 911 fees to help address budget shortfalls in other areas—a practice known as “raiding” to many in the industry.
“None of us should find that to be acceptable. [The idea that] ‘You get what you pay for’ should go double for those who are paying to get public safety,” Wheeler said. “Shining a spotlight on the problem is a start, but we need to be able to do more. For example, Congress could direct the FCC to assist states in developing effective audit tools to ensure appropriate collection and expenditure of 911 funds and prevent diversion of funds to other purposes.
“Bottom line: Localities need to have access to appropriate resources to ensure that 911 services meet the needs of their communities, and funding collected for 911 should only be used for 911.”
Wheeler also called for federal lawmakers to create a grant program that would help PSAPs pay the deployment of ESInets—the all-IP core network architecture for NG911—for the migration to next-gen 911 technology.
“Congress should authorize matching funds to help PSAPs migrate to efficient NG911 ESInets and shared platforms,” he said. “It could condition existing and future grants on the use of best-practice architectures identified by our [TFOPA] task force’s recommendations for optimal NG911 implementation.”
Accurate mapping is one of the most important aspects of NG911, because it is the foundational NG911 element that ensures emergency calls are routed to the proper PSAP. But gathering all of the necessary geographic information systems (GIS) data and confirming its accuracy is a laborious process that can take years, according to industry experts.
Of course it might be a good
Of course it might be a good start if they started taking funds away from states that raid the E911 funding for other purposes so that the taxes guaranteed to be for that purpose were ACTUALLY used for that purpose. Otherwise, good luck with getting money from our currently non-functional legislative bodies.