By Matthew Schreiner

Presenter: Jeff Cohen

On the day the APCO Project 43 report was officially released, Jeff Cohen’s opening remarks that “modernizing the nation’s 9-1-1 system is essential to the security of our citizens and the first responders who serve them”, and “…the need for federal legislation to achieve that goal”, were perfectly timed.

NG9-1-1 is an extremely complex solution, including  lots of players with differing political, technical and operational points of view. Given how complex it is, federal legislation and new funding models, including grants, will likely be required to drive it to completion.

For congress to agree to pass legislation, practitioners and providers must convince them that the following elements will  be included:

•       Agreed-upon governance (do not allow silos of expertise to develop )

•       Ensure interoperability (everyone can use it)

•       Encourage innovation (both small and large providers involved)

•       Must leverage widely-deployed consumer solutions

•       A funding model that does not allow for 9-1-1 funds to be diverted

•       A common definition regarding what NG9-1-1 actually is

This last point regarding the common definition is moving forward. Project 43 and the recent meeting between APCO President Cheryl Greathouse and NENA President Rob McMullen are taking great steps towards making the common definition a reality.