Today’s emergency ICT systems should be, but are not, fully connected to broadband, and are not drivers of broadband use to keep the public safe. They are not keeping pace with rapidly changing technological advances and are designed inefficiently, thus guaranteeing high overall system costs, all while emergency response organizations are facing serious funding shortfalls. 9-1-1 systems today are incapable of accepting communications in all the forms in which citizens communicate daily: text, video, advanced IP-enabled voice and data services, which limits their usefulness, particularly to people with disabilities who may require a specific modality to communicate. 9-1-1 and EMS agencies cannot obtain or share critical data on victims from electronic health records (e.g. medications, allergies).
In general, interoperability and information sharing among emergency responders and the agencies they serve remain a major challenge. 9-1-1 and emergency communications and response systems remain largely stuck in the technology of the 20th Century at a time when 21st Century broadband-enabled technologies are being deployed throughout most other sectors. The results are responders who lack available and useful information, emergency communications systems that are inflexible and insufficiently redundant during disasters, and overall inefficiencies.
A major national emphasis on emergency response agency access to, and use of, broadband, consistent with the goals and language of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, offers a significant opportunity to improve emergency response in America, and be a driver for broader community broadband use. The Next Generation Safety Consortium will focus on the use of broadband, including projects, services, and applications that will drive vastly increased use of broadband by the safety sector. In enabling and accelerating a new market of information sharing to and among emergency agencies we will demonstrate the benefits and capabilities of the increased use of broadband for emergency response. The result will increase demand for broadband by all emergency response agencies and related anchor institutions – and thus contribute to bringing high capacity broadband to every corner of the United States.
Please take the time to explore our website to find out more about who we are and our plan for improving our nation's safety and secruity. Please contact us if you have any questions or are interested in joining our cause.
Thank you, The Members of the NGSC.
