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September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Begins Accepting Claims
November 3, 2011NEW YORK –The September 11 th Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) is now accepting claims applications on its website, www.VCF.gov , Special Master Sheila L. Birnbaum announced today. Claimants who have registered for the fund can fill-out an online eligibility form that will be used to determine whether they are eligible for compensation through the VCF. Claimants who are found eligible will be invited to complete the compensation form, which will be used to determine the amount of compensation they are owed.
Read full articleFCC Set to Unveil Rules for Rural Broadband Fund
November 3, 2011Federal regulators are set to reveal their plan for an overhaul of the $8 billion fund that subsidizes phone service in rural areas and for the poor, with the goal of redirecting the money toward broadband expansion. The Federal Communications Commission is also preparing to disclose new rules for the byzantine system that governs how phone companies pay each other for phone calls. It’s a system that, virtually everyone in the industry agrees, is outdated and leads to perverse schemes by carriers to stimulate certain kinds of phone traffic.
Read full articleCan 9-1-1 Call Crack 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery?
November 3, 2011Twenty years to the day after Jamie Santos was strangled to death in her northwest suburban home, her murder remains unsolved. Now, Wheeling police have released a mysterious 911 call from that night hoping anyone with information will come forward.
Read full articleATIS Recommends Changes to Reduce 9-1-1 Outages
November 3, 2011Changing call patterns including increased traffic on wireless networks have led to higher risks of overloading 911 systems during weather or other emergencies, resulting in abandoned or unanswered calls, according to a new ATIS report. The association’s Network Reliability Steering Committee (NRSC) made several recommendations to both telecommunications service providers and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for improvements to reduce 911 outages.
Read full articleGreatCall Releases PSAP Training DVD for 5Star Urgent Response
November 3, 2011GreatCall has been working with both APCO and NENA the past several months to draft instructional information on their 5Star…
Read full articleNationwide Emergency Alert System Test Informational Toolkit & PSAs Available
November 3, 2011Don’t forget: On Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST, FEMA will transmit the EAS code for national emergencies in…
Read full articleNine Pa. Counties Join to Improve 9-1-1 Emergency Calling Network
October 27, 2011PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Nine counties in Western Pennsylvania are joining forces to save money and offer better 911 service through an Internet-based emergency services network scheduled to be in place by late next year. The system will be used by Armstrong, Butler, Lawrence, Fayette, Indiana, Mercer, Greene, Somerset and Westmoreland counties.
Read full articleFCC Reminds EAS Participants About Nov. 9 Nationwide EAS Test
October 27, 2011The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reminds Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants (e.g., broadcasters, cable operators, satellite radio and television service providers and wireline video service providers) that on November 9, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), the FCC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct the first-ever Nationwide EAS Test.
Read full articleGreatCall Releases PSAP Training DVD for 5Star Urgent Response
October 26, 2011GreatCall has been working with both APCO and NENA the past several months to draft instructional information on their 5Star Urgent Response service. PSAPs should soon receive training DVDs from GreatCall that will explain this service and how we can work together to effectively handle an emergency call that originates from a 5Star Urgent Response™ device.
Read full articleAudit Finds Atlanta 9-1-1 Call Taking & Dispatching Greatly Delayed
October 26, 2011Delay of information is more than 10 times the national average.
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