Archive
FCC WORKSHOPS ON THE PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK IN TRANSITION
November 21, 2011The Federal Communications Commission is holding two workshops to examine the transition from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to new technologies. Circuit-switched wireline voice technology has created a high standard for reliability, accessibility, and ubiquity. Consumers will continue to expect and demand these qualities, even as they shift from PSTN services to services provided over different networks. The transition away from the PSTN is already occurring, and is likely to accelerate. Through these workshops, the Commission will seek input on the technical, economic, and policy issues that must be addressed to minimize disruption during this transition, and to protect consumers, public safety, competition, and other important interests.
Read full articleNarrow-banding audio quality improved by Pryme’s new Turbo-Boost™ speaker transducer.
November 21, 2011With the impending FCC mandate, analog portable two-way radios are now transitioning to narrowband operation. Consequently, this usually reduces the audio signal quality. Additionally, the audio output of many of the new models of digital radios is not as strong as in previous models, partially due to the complexity of how they process audio signals (gain control).
Read full articleTIA Webinar: Enabling Compliance – the FCC’s New Disability Access Rules
November 19, 2011Washington, D.C. – On October 7, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released two sets of final rules that will…
Read full articleGovernor’s EMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to EMS Telecommunications Awarded to Nicola Tidey
November 18, 2011This past Saturday evening at the 32nd Annual Virginia EMS Symposium the Governor’s EMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to EMS…
Read full articleLautenberg Announces Nearly $200 Million for Cops Program in Final Appropriations Bill
November 18, 2011U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced that President Barack Obama will sign $198 million into law for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program. $166 million of that funding will be used for grants to hire and retain police officers in communities around the country. The funding comes from the joint House and Senate minibus conference report, which includes the final version of the Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) appropriations bill that was approved in Congress yesterday.
Read full articleAnna G. Eshoo: Police and Firefighters Need a Better Way to Communicate During Emergencies
November 18, 2011By Anna G. Eshoo, Special to the San Jose Mercury News (California): Each one of us will never forget the ill-fated day of Sept. 11, 2001. Faced with the unimaginable, firefighters, Emergency Medical Services and police officers arrived on the scene, only to contend with an outdated radio communications system that prevented seamless communications among emergency personnel.
Read full articleEmergency Dispatching: Not for the Faint of Heart
November 18, 2011The hallway to Roanoke County’s emergency call center is lined with photos of recruits from recent years. The other day, Aleta Coleman, a longtime supervisor, was listing the places some now work. From 2003’s class, one left for Carilion Clinic. From 2004, one left for the Internal Revenue Service. From 2006, one left for the Virginia State Police. From 2007, one left for a local restaurant. From last year, one left for Franklin County’s call center.
Read full articleTelecommunicator Spotlight: 3 Decades of Dispatching & Cindy Cielock Is Still Loving It
November 18, 2011“I love the adrenalin rush when there is a hot call. I enjoy the stress of it all. I like the hot call, and I like a successful conclusion,” Cindy Cielock says about her job as a public safety dispatcher for Onondaga 9-1-1 in Syracuse, N.Y. The area comprises 827,000 square miles with 600 deputies and 450 Syracuse police officers. Cielock has lived in Syracuse her entire life.
Read full articlePublic Safety Representatives Meet with Members of Congress to Urge D Block Allocation to Public Safety
November 17, 2011On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Congressman Peter King (R-NY) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) were joined by more than 40 uniformed public safety officials and dozens more supporters to urge members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or Super Committee, to include S.911 language to allocate the D block spectrum within the 700 MHz band to public safety and to provide for $11 billion for construction of the Public Safety Broadband Network.
Read full article9-1-1 Call Center-NCMEC Partners
November 17, 2011Are you familiar with the ties the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has to APCO International and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)? Have you considered what it would involve to become a 9-1-1 Call Center Partner with the NCMEC?
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