No clear plans for federal NG911 legislation, but funding hope remains, NENA officials say

BREAKING NEWS — NENA officials are keeping their fingers crossed legislation to help fund NG911 technology nationally could still be introduced, according to reports from IWCE’s Urgent Communications. But despite the high hopes of the National Emergency Number Association, no legislation is scheduled to be introduced to Congress. (https://urgentcomm.com/2019/02/19/no-clear-plans-for-federal-ng911-legislation-but-funding-hope-remains-nena-chief-says/?NL=UC-03&Issue=UC-03_20190219_UC-03_965&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1&utm_rid=CPEQW000008528170&utm_campaign=15016&utm_medium=email&elq2=a27e0959e40d4ce8954fff750f62113e) “Hope for legislation that would allocate…

BREAKING: How one corporate partnership hopes to make schools safer with new application

BREAKING NEWS — CrisisGo and Sonim have partnered on a FirstNet capable, emergency communications application, and hope the new technology will help makes public schools safer. https://urgentcomm.com/2019/02/15/crisisgo-sonim-partner-on-firstnet-capable-emergency-communications-application-for-schools/ “Personnel on school campuses throughout the United States have access to an emergency-communications platform that can leverage the FirstNet system built by AT&T, thanks to a partnership announced yesterday…

BREAKING NEWS: RACOM maintains LMR communications, despite tornado hitting network cores

BREAKING NEWS — Today’s headlines from IWCE’s Urgent Communications touts a U.S. based company maintained LMR communications for first responders as a tornado directly hit headquarters. Reports show despite significant damage to a RAMCOM facility in Iowa, their P25 and EDACS systems maintained communications for every public safety first responder throughout the devastating storm. (http://urgentcomm.com/p25/racom-maintains-lmr-communications-despite-tornado-hitting-network-cores-company-headquarters)…

BREAKING NEWS: Apple iOS update to include automatic location sharing with 911 centers

The latest iOS update from Apple could potentially save lives, after the group announced Monday plans to work directly with 911 centers, helping pinpoint call locations during an emergency situation. Several industry reports, including a story from NPR, say location information will be gathered from “cell towers, GPS and Wi-Fi access points,” and only the 911…

Indiana on cutting edge of text to 911 technology

INDIANA – According to reports, Indiana is one of the only states in the country which allows text to 911 in all counties. (http://www.wishtv.com/news/indiana-news/after-4-years-indiana-embraces-text-to-911-in-emergencies/1216368826) “Emergency response officials say residents in all 92 Indiana counties can now send text-to-911 messages during emergencies if they’re unable to speak to dispatchers. Ed Reuter is executive director of the…

Headline roundup: Hawaii’s recent emergency response

With a major volcano eruption spewing still lava in Hawaii, many concerned with public-safety communications are turning their eyes to the tiny island state to see how first-responders are reacting to the emergency. As of May 10, 14 fissures have opened up near Puna, Big Island, and around 1,700 people are under a mandatory evacuation…

Communications still down in Puerto Rico following Maria

PUERTO RICO — More than a week after Hurricane Maria hit land, communications are still down in the tiny island of Puerto Rico. According to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report, most of the island’s communications, specifically that of cell phones, are down 78-100 percent. “Overall, 91.1 percent of cell sites are out of service.,”…