The NG911 NOW Coalition Tuesday called for national action to make Next-Generation 911 a reality nationwide by 2020. Coalition members include the National Association of State 911 Administrators, the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies and the National Emergency Number Association. “NG911 will enhance the 911 system to create a faster, more flexible, resilient, and scalable system that allows 911 to keep up with communication technology used by the public,” the coalition said in a news release. “Citizens in need of emergency assistance will be able to transmit photos, videos and other forms of broadband data and applications to 911 professionals, in addition to making a traditional voice call or sending a text message.” “Over the past year, I have been very vocal about the fact that the transition to Next Generation 911 is stalled and we need an all-out effort to accelerate it,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement. “Today’s announcement of a new coalition to hasten the NG911 transition is welcome news. Modernizing the nation’s 911 system will take work from many stakeholders -- including the FCC, state and local 911 authorities and legislatures, industry, and Congress -- but together we can save lives.” NTCA said rural call centers “face significant challenges to upgrading their systems; among them, the current 911 funding model is broken and ineffective at supporting existing services, let alone advanced capabilities.” Monday, Wheeler spoke on the issue at the NENA conference (see 1602220048).
Mobile money accounts increased globally 31 percent to 411 million in 2015, the GSM Association said in a report released Tuesday. More than a billion transactions were processed in December, and mobile money is available in 85 percent of nations where most of the population lacks access to formal financial institutions, GSMA reported. In 2015, there were 29 cross-border mobile money initiatives that connected 19 countries, the group said. “Mobile money is driving social and economic impact for millions of people in emerging markets,” said John Giusti, chief regulatory officer of GSMA, in a news release. “Over the last decade, mobile money has done more to extend the reach of financial services than traditional bricks and mortar banking were able to do over the last century.”
The NG911 NOW Coalition Tuesday called for national action to make Next-Generation 911 a reality nationwide by 2020. Coalition members include the National Association of State 911 Administrators, the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies and the National Emergency Number Association. “NG911 will enhance the 911 system to create a faster, more flexible, resilient, and scalable system that allows 911 to keep up with communication technology used by the public,” the coalition said in a news release. “Citizens in need of emergency assistance will be able to transmit photos, videos and other forms of broadband data and applications to 911 professionals, in addition to making a traditional voice call or sending a text message.” “Over the past year, I have been very vocal about the fact that the transition to Next Generation 911 is stalled and we need an all-out effort to accelerate it,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement. “Today’s announcement of a new coalition to hasten the NG911 transition is welcome news. Modernizing the nation’s 911 system will take work from many stakeholders -- including the FCC, state and local 911 authorities and legislatures, industry, and Congress -- but together we can save lives.” NTCA said rural call centers “face significant challenges to upgrading their systems; among them, the current 911 funding model is broken and ineffective at supporting existing services, let alone advanced capabilities.” Monday, Wheeler spoke on the issue at the NENA conference (see 1602220048).
Mobile money accounts increased globally 31 percent to 411 million in 2015, the GSM Association said in a report released Tuesday. More than a billion transactions were processed in December, and mobile money is available in 85 percent of nations where most of the population lacks access to formal financial institutions, GSMA reported. In 2015, there were 29 cross-border mobile money initiatives that connected 19 countries, the group said. “Mobile money is driving social and economic impact for millions of people in emerging markets,” said John Giusti, chief regulatory officer of GSMA, in a news release. “Over the last decade, mobile money has done more to extend the reach of financial services than traditional bricks and mortar banking were able to do over the last century.”
Mobile money accounts increased globally 31 percent to 411 million in 2015, the GSM Association said in a report released Tuesday. More than a billion transactions were processed in December, and mobile money is available in 85 percent of nations where most of the population lacks access to formal financial institutions, GSMA reported. In 2015, there were 29 cross-border mobile money initiatives that connected 19 countries, the group said. “Mobile money is driving social and economic impact for millions of people in emerging markets,” said John Giusti, chief regulatory officer of GSMA, in a news release. “Over the last decade, mobile money has done more to extend the reach of financial services than traditional bricks and mortar banking were able to do over the last century.”
Ligado's plans for commercial access to the 1675-1680 MHz band for its terrestrial broadband network could face a hurdle in the form of downlinks from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geostationary Operational Environmental Series satellite-R (GOES-R) set to launch in October. The company previously named LightSquared is pushing the FCC to open up that NOAA-used band for commercial sharing and auction (see 1512310016), and hopes to see that auction in federal FY 2017 (see 1602090067). But NOAA said a variety of issues -- chief among them interference with its downlinks -- need to be addressed first.
Ligado's plans for commercial access to the 1675-1680 MHz band for its terrestrial broadband network could face a hurdle in the form of downlinks from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geostationary Operational Environmental Series satellite-R (GOES-R) set to launch in October. The company previously named LightSquared is pushing the FCC to open up that NOAA-used band for commercial sharing and auction (see 1512310016), and hopes to see that auction in federal FY 2017 (see 1602090067). But NOAA said a variety of issues -- chief among them interference with its downlinks -- need to be addressed first.
The FCC should issue a rulemaking on phasing out text technology (TTY) in favor of real-time text (RTT), the FCC’s Disability Advisory Committee agreed Tuesday. The DAC, meeting at FCC headquarters, approved a report on the move away from TTY.
It is "imperative" the implementation of next-generation 911 (NG911) systems happens "now" nationwide, and that there is a universality of the technologies used in the new IP-based systems, FCC officials and emergency communications experts said Monday during a National Emergency Number Association event. Panelists and NENA members also stressed the need for passage of "comprehensive" multiline telephone system (MLTS) legislation, as well as recurring funding sources for local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and robust cybersecurity protections for NG-911 systems.
It is "imperative" the implementation of next-generation 911 (NG911) systems happens "now" nationwide, and that there is a universality of the technologies used in the new IP-based systems, FCC officials and emergency communications experts said Monday during a National Emergency Number Association event. Panelists and NENA members also stressed the need for passage of "comprehensive" multiline telephone system (MLTS) legislation, as well as recurring funding sources for local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and robust cybersecurity protections for NG-911 systems.