News Briefs – Thursday, June 8, 2006
Governors association creates council to address homeland security threats
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices created the Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council as a forum for state governor-appointed advisors to discuss common concerns and develop strategies for managing homeland-security threats. The council will address improving cross-state and regional communications among other issues, according to the NGA.
FCC announces regional 700 MHz meeting
The Federal Communications Commission announced that the Region 55 (New York-Buffalo area) 700 MHz Regional Planning Committee meeting will convene at 10 a.m. on June 28 at the Public Safety Training Center in Rochester, N.Y.
E-911 coverage increasing, but still lacking in rural areas
The National Emergency Number Association reported that more than three-quarters of the U.S. population now reside in areas with wireless E-911 service, which is able to deliver a caller’s call-back number and location to the appropriate public-safety answering point. This is an 8% increase in Phase II deployments, according to NENA. However, half of the nation’s 3135 counties, primarily located in rural areas, are still unable to provide E-911 services.