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The 9-1-1 Take: Winter 2021
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The 9-1-1 Take by John Hunt
FirstNet and the emergency communications center
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The FirstNet Authority recently hosted a nationwide webinar about the emergency communication center and FirstNet. Nearly 500 people registered for the event from emergency communication centers (ECCs) and public safety answering points (PSAPs) across the country. We had a great discussion that will help inform the future of FirstNet for the 9-1-1 community.
Inside scoop
Regular readers of this newsletter may recognize several of the webinar’s topics because we gave you the first glimpse in previous editions. In the Fall 2020 edition I explained FirstNet’s role in the path of a 9-1-1 call. At the webinar, we discussed this topic in depth, detailing the FirstNet interconnection options for emergency communication centers and responders in the field.
Similar to a story in the Summer 2020 edition of this newsletter, Jim Millsap, technical division chief for Fulton County Emergency Services in Georgia, joined the webinar to discuss how they set up a remote communications center using FirstNet and provided a backup ECC for the Super Bowl and when the primary center needed decontaminating after a COVID exposure.
Like in the Spring 2020 edition, Bob Finney, communications director for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office ECC in Florida, described how they planned to use FirstNet for a virtual Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) and transfer non-emergency calls to dispatchers located at another ECC in South Carolina.
Survey results
At the webinar, we debuted our ECC survey results. Last July, we surveyed 150 ECC and PSAP directors from around the country to understand how ECCs and PSAPs are communicating with the public and responders in the field.
The results showed a mixed response in capabilities depending on local infrastructure. For example, over 80% of ECCs said they accept text messages from the public, but only 4% said they are able to accept video. Most of the ECCs share computer-aided dispatch (CAD) data with mobile data terminals in the field and about half send text messages to first responders’ smartphones, but only a third of the ECCs send CAD data to smartphones.
We also asked about tools for situational awareness, any barriers to using FirstNet, and the status of implementing Next Generation 9-1-1 upgrades. A majority of respondents reported having some Next Generation 9-1-1 functionalities like geographic information systems or call processing equipment, but only a few reported having full functionality in place.
This feedback allows us to shape the future of FirstNet to best support the 9-1-1 community. At the FirstNet Authority, our job is to make sure the network is evolving to meet the needs of ECCs and PSAPs
We look forward to more opportunities for feedback.
Your experience
What is your experience with FirstNet and emergency communications? Send me an email to share your thoughts and questions.
Also, I hope you’ll check out the Leveraging FirstNet for Medical Communications webinar that the FirstNet Authority is hosting tomorrow on Feb. 4.
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The FirstNet Authority continues to advance unique capabilities for public safety as outlined in the FirstNet Authority Roadmap, including four new mission-ready solutions:
FirstNet MegaRange™ boosts signal strength in hard-to-reach places using high-power user equipment (HPUE) only authorized on FirstNet.
Z-Axis for FirstNet offers vertical location mapping especially helpful with locating personnel in tall buildings that is not offered by traditional GPS.
Compact Rapid Deployables are available for public safety agencies to purchase, providing connectivity similar to cell sites in a matter of minutes.
FirstNet Push-to-Talk now can communicate seamlessly with land-mobile radio users, enabling better collaboration.
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The FirstNet network continues to expand across America. In the last three months, new cell sites have gone up in: Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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Tech, Innovations, and Hot Topics in 9-1-1
Read what we’ve been hearing from public safety in the field about trends and drivers for 9-1-1 and emergency communications.*
Agencies in Georgia, Ohio, and Florida are some of the first to use a new technology for livestreaming video and pinpointing exact GPS coordinates from a 9-1-1 caller. With the caller’s permission, the dispatcher sends a secure, one-time-use link to the caller’s smartphone, which allows the dispatcher to access the smartphone’s GPS and camera. The dispatcher can then share the video, photos, and location with the responding agency.
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The FirstNet network core provides first responders with a foundation for advancing their use of mobile broadband with mission critical features they never had before. 5G technology is on the horizon and will increase resiliency, more redundancy, and improved security .
Watch the video |
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John Hunt is a Senior Public Safety Advisor and the First Responder Network Authority 9-1-1 Subject Matter Expert. Learn more about John or email him with your questions. |
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*FirstNet Authority may provide hyperlinks for third-party, non-governmental websites in order to offer additional context and added value for our users. FirstNet Authority does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible, nor can it guarantee the validity or timeliness of the content on hyperlinks outside of the federal government. In addition, users may wish to review privacy notices on non-government sites since their information collection practices may differ from ours.
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