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SRA International, Inc. Strategy and Performance Group (formerly Touchstone Consulting Group)
General
As seen in the most recent National Emergency Number Association (NENA) newsletter, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have announced that they will deploy capabilities for individuals to send text messages to 9-1-1 call centers beginning in 2014. The plan was agreed to by the four major carriers, NENA-The 9-1-1 Association and APCO, and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
Video coverage from Headline News below:
Image from WCAX
This week the State of Vermont and Sprint Wireless began a four-month trial allowing customers to send text messages 9-1-1. This follows a six-month pilot the State conducted with Verizon Wireless, during which citizens only used the text-to-9-1-1 system twice. Trials in North Carolina and Tennessee have also taken place recently. Continue reading »
This is the first in an occasional series of updates on the National Public Safety Broadband Network.
Broadband is a big issue for our readers–especially where it intersects with alerts and warnings. You have probably read one of the more popular examples of how first responders will be able to use broadband, by allowing them to send and receive video and data. However, it is also being recommended that the FCC begin exploring next generation alerting systems, where alerts are delivered via broadband. These alerts could include video and the capability to reach those communities now underserved, such as persons with disabilities and non-English speakers. We at AWARE thought it was time to take a closer look at the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), beginning with some background information. Continue reading »
The independent board set up to lead the build-out of a nationwide public safety broadband network has begun the challenging work of designing a blueprint for this endeavor. As reported by Homeland Security Today, the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is already encountering the multitude of coordination challenges facing this project, coming off its inaugural board meeting on September 25. Continue reading »
Last week, we at AWARE passed an exciting milestone: our 300th article.
We started AWARE three years ago, publishing our very first post on November 30, 2009. Since that point, this blog has become a resource that emergency managers, public information officers, technologists, and others look to for news, analysis, and insight in the growing field of alerts and warnings. And these past three years have seen some important events in alerts in warnings, including the first-ever national test of the Emergency Alert System, roll-out of the Common Alerting Protocol, and deployment of the Commercial Mobile Alert Service. We feel privileged to have been a respected source of information during an important time in alerts and warningsseen site traffic we have gone from 300 visits per month to more than 3,000.
An immense thank you to the featured guest authors who have contributed to this site over the past two years, as well as to our staff authors. And most of all, thank you to our readers for engaging with us and supporting the growth of AWARE.
Looking to the future, we want to know how AWARE can better serve you. What issues would you like us to devote more content to? Please let us know in the comments below or by tweeting us @AWAREforum.
