Emergency Communications

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday March 22, 2018:

[Speech] With more than 50 million people identified as having a disability in this country, it is critical that both legacy communications services and those new and emerging technologies are accessible to all.  That is why I believe we must discuss these issues, not just when a rulemaking has “accessibility” in its title, but in each and every proceeding before the Commission. By this I mean, if a proceeding will impact the general public, we must include in that discussion, how those living with a disability will be impacted.

In the next fiscal year, we will continue to operationalize the network and interface with public safety. We have already begun work on service offerings like priority and preemption, and new capabilities will come as the FirstNet core network is launched in the first half of calendar year 2018. In addition,
we will see new device, application, and service offerings. We also will see the first phases of our RAN buildout to reflect increased coverage across the
country.

[Speech] My approach when it comes to public safety issues, has been shaped by three, key guiding principles: people with accessibility and access challenges must benefit; we should do all we can to educate every consumer about these safety benefits; and collaboration among all stakeholders works better than litigation.

State and federal emergency responders should have plans ready to go to counter rumors, misinformation and fake news in the wake of disasters, according to a new white paper from a Homeland Security Department advisory group. Those plans should include actively correcting misinformation on Facebook and Twitter with hashtags such as #rumor and #mythbuster, according to the draft report, which the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee approved for final publication Feb 22.

[Press release] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will visit Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands from March 7–10 to meet with local leaders and communications service providers and review the status of communications restoration efforts after the 2017 hurricane season. He will be accompanied by members of the Commission’s Hurricane Recovery Task Force. This serves as a follow-up to his trip to Puerto Rico last November.

Inexplicably, in many instances, officials under your leadership failed to respond to our last request for 9-1-1 information on fee collection and allocation. At the very least, given the importance of this information, you should have been aware of the impending failure to respond....[S]ince your states and territories have either been a self-admitted diverter of 9-1-1 fees in the past or guilty of failing to respond to a previous inquiry, it can only be assumed that your state or territory diverted 9-1-1 fees for 2016. Neither of these outcomes is appropriate or acceptable.

Establishing an integrated first-responder communications system is all about the details, not just the big picture overview and goals.  That reality became obvious as Michael Poth, CEO of The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), explained the agency's objectives to a Media Institute monthly luncheon in Washington on Feb 15. Poth cited "improved situational awareness" as a keystone of the FirstNet project, but also acknowledged that the near-term requirement is "getting technology to first responders using the technology that now exists."

Ken Sunseri, the Mayor of Haleyville (AL)  is here with us today. He’s here for a good reason. Fifty years ago today, the first 911 call was made from the Haleyville City Hall to the city’s police station.