Industry
Chico Police Begin Move into New Dispatch Center
March 10, 2011Chico, Calif. — Police are hoping things go smoothly when they begin moving their 9-1-1 communications center out of a dark, cramped space in the middle of their building on Humboldt Road to a bright and airy room nearly twice as large.
Read full articleRadio Shock Waves: New 9/11 Blunder
March 10, 2011NYC — The communications failures that led to the deaths of hundreds of first responders on 9/11 still haven’t been fixed, despite tens of millions of dollars spent on elaborate radio systems in lower Manhattan, The Post has learned.
Read full articleMarion County, Tenn., to Build New 9-1-1 Center
March 10, 2011Jasper, Tenn. — When the Marion County Sheriff’s Office took over the dispatching duties for all the municipalities in the county, officials said they knew they eventually would have to expand the existing 911 facilities.
Read full articleAccidental 9-1-1 Calls Cost Big Bucks & Run Police Ragged
March 10, 2011Ramsey County, Minn. — If you accidentally call 911, stay on the line and talk to the operator, or else a squad car will pull up at your home. They’re mostly embarrassing mistakes that only take a split second, but end up eating precious time and costing police departments thousands of dollars every year: The 911 hangup calls.
Read full articleCommentary: OWIN Lessons Applied to the Columbia River Crossing
March 10, 2011Portland, Ore. — When the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network project was unveiled, approximately $600 million worth of needed wireless communications infrastructure improvements were identified. The recession forced a compromise, and the project will now meet the Federal Communications Commission minimum requirements for approximately 20 percent of that price.
Read full articleCorrecting ‘Wrong Addresses’
March 10, 2011Chapel Hill, N.C. — An Orange County government project that was started in 1987, but stalled in 1991, is being brought back to life, and it’s likely there will be plenty of people who aren’t going to be too happy about it. Orange County is working on an ordinance that will require residents who have the “wrong addresses” to correct them.
Read full articleDispatchers for Two Cities Close to Uniting in Portland
March 4, 2011Portland, Maine — South Portland and Portland will consolidate all of their emergency communications in a few months, so that incoming calls and outgoing directions to police, fire and medical teams will be handled in one location.
Read full articleNew 800 MHz Band Plan for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
March 4, 2011This document summarizes the Fourth Report and Order, which establishes a new 800 MHz band plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). This action is necessary to meet the Commission’s goals to improve public safety communications in the 800 MHz band. The effect of this order ensures an orderly and efficient transition to the new 800 MHz band plan in the USVI.
Read full articleNew Study Verifies Public Safety’s Broadband Plan
March 2, 2011Alexandria, Va. — A new economic study released today by former FCC staff and leading telecommunications academics finds that assigning the D block to public safety, as opposed to subjecting it to a commercial auction, provides the nation with at least $3.4 billion more in social benefit. Furthermore, the study concludes that the allocation of D block to public safety will help contribute to deficit reduction.
Read full articleD.C. Mayor Was Warned of Safety Issues before Furlough Triggered Dropped 9-1-1 Calls
March 2, 2011Washington, D.C. — The D.C. mayor’s office was warned that furloughing 9-1-1 emergency calltakers could harm public safety — weeks before nearly 200 calls went unanswered on Feb. 22 because the furlough stripped the call center of employees.
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