Frustrated with an emergency communications system that is inferior to the technical innovation of today’s smartphone, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has turned its full attention to Next Generation 911 (NG911) service.
At their September meeting, commissioners released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comments on how to accelerate the development and deployment of NG911 technology. NG911 will enhance communications among consumers, public service answering points (PSAPs) and responders by supporting Internet Protocol-based transmission of emergency-
related voice, text, data, photos and video.
Comments are requested on how to build a broadband infrastructure to deliver sufficient bandwidth to PSAPs and implement hardware and software technical standards; whether and how to prioritize calls to 911 over others during emergencies; and how to achieve the commissioners’ interim goal of enabling PSAPs to receive basic text messages. One study estimates that transition to the NG911 system during a 10-year period will cost between $1.44 billion and $2.68 billion.
Comments are due 60 days from the September 22 release of NPRM, which is at fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts
-next-generation-911-nprm.
Narrowbanding Funding Proposed
The Help Emergency Responders Operate Emergency Systems (HEROES) Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives, would establish a $400 million Narrowband Deadline Fund to help local first responders comply with the federal narrowbanding mandate to increase the number of channels on a portion of the public safety spectrum. The monies originally allocated to help responders upgrade equipment and infrastructure to comply with the mandate have been reduced or eliminated by Congress over time.
Narrowbanding requires all public safety Part 90 land mobile radio systems operating in the 150–174 MHz and 421–512 MHz bands to migrate from 25 kHz-efficiency to at least 12.5 kHz-efficiency technology by Jan. 1, 2013. Failure to comply will result in monetary fines and other severe penalties. The bill would also use the sales of certain portions of the 700 MHz spectrum to fund a competitive grant program for local first responders to meet the narrowband mandate.
The bill was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in September.
NIMS Training Standards Revised
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) Training Program, released by the National Integration Center (NIC) in September, defines NIC and stakeholder responsibilities for developing, maintaining and sustaining NIMS training. NIMS was implemented after 9/11 as an emergency response template for federal and local governments, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to prepare for, respond to and recover from incidents in a consistent, anticipated manner. The program has three objectives:
- Support NIMS education and training for all emergency management personnel
- Provide guidelines, courses, and a curriculum for training and credentialing plans to achieve NIMS capabilities
- Define the minimum personnel qualification for service on multijurisdictional incidents nationally
The document also specifies the development process for emergency management personnel qualification.
The NIMS Training Program, which supersedes the five-year training plan released in 2008, is at fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/nims_training_program.pdf.
Lawmakers Demand Cancer Care for WTC Responders
Following publication of a study that finds a 19 percent higher risk of cancer among firefighters who were at the site of the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks, a delegation of New York House members wants cancer care provided for sick responders. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which oversees a health program to provide medical monitoring and treatment for WTC responders, ruled in July that cancer is not a covered condition.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the September issue of the medical journal Lancet, found a higher risk of thyroid and prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and melanoma among firefighters who worked at the WTC.
The lawmakers filed a petition that requires 9/11 Health Program Administrator John Howard, M.D., to decide within 60 days whether to add cancer coverage. Howard’s committee is not scheduled to review the ruling before the reassessment period in early or mid-2012.
To read the House members’ letter to Howard, visit nadler.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1717&Itemid=132.
National Strategy for CBRNE Standards Released
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, with the Homeland Security and Commerce departments, released its vision for the federal coordination, prioritization and implementation of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) countermeasures equipment standards, to be in effect by 2020. “National Strategy for CBRNE Standards,” finalized in August, reflects the federal consensus on CBRNE equipment used by federal and local responders for reliable detection, protection and decontamination from these agents.
Among the keys to achieving CBRNE technological performance and interoperability, deployment and user training are promoting CBRNE standard operating procedures, the adoption of voluntary training and certification standards, and comprehensive equipment testing and evaluation capability.
The document is available at whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/chns_cbrne_standards_final_24_aug_11.pdf.
