Citizen Engagement - Urgent Comms

News

Breaking down information silos makes cities smarter

The free and open flow of municipal data will increase municipal efficiencies, according to Jason Nelson, executive director of the Smart Cities Council.

Commentary

SMS/MMS text messaging can help local governments and public-safety agencies connect to the public

Communicating with residents is a priority for state and local governments and public-safety agencies at any time, but it is especially important during times of emergency. SMS/MMS messaging systems can help provide alerts during such critical moments, as well as improve information exchanges with the public on a day-to-day basis.

News

Kari’s Law bill passes House; Senate vote date uncertain

The Kari’s Law Act of 2016 bill that would require direct 911 dialing on multi-line telephone systems (MLTSs) passed the House of Representatives this week, but officials aren’t sure when the Senate will vote on the proposal.

News

FCC’s Rosenworcel says non-service-initialized (NSI) phone policy for calling 911 should be changed

Non-service-initialized (NSI) cell phones—devices that that are not subscribed to a wireless carrier—no longer should be able to call 911 as they are today, because circumstances have changed substantially since the policy was established almost 20 years ago, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said during the recent APCO Emerging Technology Forum in Atlanta.

News

FCC proposes messaging, location enhancements to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system

Authorities will be able to provide the public with alerts via wireless devices that are more detailed and geographically relevant under a proposal to revamp the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system that FCC commissioners approved unanimously.

Video

Motorola Solutions: Steve Sebestyen demonstrates TipSoft application for anonymous informants

Steve Sebestyen, business-development manager and public-safety evangelist for Motorola Solutions, explains how TipSoft—a software application acquired with the purchase of PublicEngines in April—lets informants provide public safety with information via a secure online portal while remaining anonymous.

Video

Motorola Solutions: Christopher Holmes highlights features of CommandCentral Vault platform

Christopher Holmes, a product manager at Motorola Solutions, details the features of CommandCentral Vault, the company’s digital-management system that leverages Microsoft’s CJIS-compliant Azure Government cloud platform. In addition to providing secure storage of public-safety video, CommandCentral Vault automates time-consuming tasks like redaction and incident correlation.

News

Body-worn camera technology promising, but more work is needed, IACP panelists say

Deploying body-worn cameras on police officers is an idea that rapidly has gained popularity during the past year, but some details surrounding the use of the cameras still should be resolved, two police chiefs and the top NAACP official said during a panel at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 2015 event.

Video

TCS: Kannan Sreedhar discusses company’s broadband solution to support healthcare providers

Kannan Sreedhar, vice president and general manager of the VirtuMedix group at TeleCommunication Systems (TCS), explains how the company’s VirtuMedix software platform can help providers deliver healthcare services more efficiently and easily to patients in rural areas. Sreedhar spoke with IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson during the recent CCA conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Commentary

Chattanooga shootings exhibit the need for in-building wireless, text-to-911 services

Following the recent tragic shootings in Chattanooga, officials at the Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC) began discussing the significance of the final text message sent by Lance Cpl. Squire Wells. His two-word warning to his girlfriend illustrates how much we have come to rely on our smartphones in an emergency.

Tag: Citizen Engagement

News

Breaking down information silos makes cities smarter

Commentary

SMS/MMS text messaging can help local governments and public-safety agencies connect to the public

News

Kari’s Law bill passes House; Senate vote date uncertain

News

FCC’s Rosenworcel says non-service-initialized (NSI) phone policy for calling 911 should be changed

News

FCC proposes messaging, location enhancements to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system

Video

Motorola Solutions: Steve Sebestyen demonstrates TipSoft application for anonymous informants

Video

Motorola Solutions: Christopher Holmes highlights features of CommandCentral Vault platform

News

Body-worn camera technology promising, but more work is needed, IACP panelists say

Video

TCS: Kannan Sreedhar discusses company’s broadband solution to support healthcare providers

Commentary

Chattanooga shootings exhibit the need for in-building wireless, text-to-911 services

Commentary

Latest 3GPP standards-development work includes new classes of HPUE, progress on mission-critical services

Is LMR the best solution for first responders? Should 4.9 GHz license go to the FirstNet Authority?

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