By Stephen Martini

Rear Admiral (ret.) David Simpson, chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, spent 30 minutes discussing important issues for PSAPs with APCO Legal Counsel Jeff Cohen during the Emerging Technology Forum in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday. Having toured PSAPs in Kansas a few days prior to the start of the forum, Simpson spoke on a variety of PSAP-related issues including establishing a statewide emergency services IP network (ESInet) and the recently published report from the FCC’s Task Force on Optimal PSAP Architecture, and applauded APCO’s recently announced Project 43 initiative to comprehensively assess the potential implications of broadband in the PSAP.

Regarding the ESInet, Simpson said cyber security needs to be the largest concern for public safety networks and a statewide network had to be strong enough to avoid attacks that may occur at the most vulnerable networked PSAP. Regarding PSAP architecture, Simpson applauded the work of task force members who completed their two-year mission in half the time, allowing another year to “drill down” into areas needing more attention while being available for feedback on the report they created. “We created a set of operational principles,” Simpson said. “At the end of the day, 9-1-1 has to work for communities. It has to be effective, but we need to make sure it remains tailored to serve communities. I hope we never lose that.”

Simpson also shared praise in response to APCO’s recent announcement to form working groups of subject matter experts to assess the potential impact of broadband on the PSAP through its Project 43 initiative.

“I’m glad (Project 43) isn’t just a set of technical specifications, but also an operational piece and a training and education piece,” Simpson said. “Telecommunicators today are in a role that their value-add to emergency response will only increase over time.”