A myth about VoIP’s ability to handle 911 traffic may have been blown away by gunfire at the Ga. Public Safety Training Center. A Monroe County, Ga., test this month for the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) indicated to participants’ ears that -- contrary to widespread belief -- VoIP calls can transmit background sounds such as gun shots from callers’ premises well enough to give responders crucial clues about emergencies and how best to address them, CEO James Cavanagh of the Consultant Registry told us. He’s an APCO and National Emergency Numbers Assn. member who prompted the experiment. Cavanagh acknowledged the testing was preliminary and purposely unscientific, but added: “The gauntlet’s been thrown down. Initial results indicate it was not as bad a problem as we thought it was.”
A myth about VoIP’s ability to handle 911 traffic may have been blown away by gunfire at the Ga. Public Safety Training Center. A Monroe County, Ga., test this month for the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) indicated to participants’ ears that -- contrary to widespread belief -- VoIP calls can transmit background sounds such as gun shots from callers’ premises well enough to give responders crucial clues about emergencies and how best to address them, CEO James Cavanagh of the Consultant Registry told us. He’s an APCO and National Emergency Numbers Assn. member who prompted the experiment. Cavanagh acknowledged the testing was preliminary and purposely unscientific, but added: “The gauntlet’s been thrown down. Initial results indicate it was not as bad a problem as we thought it was.”
As state legislatures start the new year’s sessions and start addressing issues, hot topics include anti-spam measures, wireless directory assistance, E-911 taxes, billing, regulatory authority, carphone safety and Lifeline.
UNIVERSAL CITY, Cal. -- The lack of concrete FCC content rules continues to create an air of unease for PBS’s local stations, PBS CEO Pat Mitchell told TV critics here Sat. When the pubcaster sends out programs to its 170 licensees, she said, “we are sending out the version that we think complies with the guidelines as best we understand them. And the chilling effect that we're all worried about is exactly that; when they're not hard and fast and totally clear-cut, you do find yourself making decisions, second-guessing. And we do worry about that, along with our producers.”
With Congress set to return this week, govt. and industry sources are pondering its direction on communications issues. The topics Congress will address this session are generally agreed on, but a key question is when members will begin to tackle telecom and media issues. They may not be an early priority, with Social Security and tax reform getting most attention from the national media.
SAN JOSE -- U.S. state and local emergency services’ ignorance and orneriness as users is exceeded only by their need for sophisticated wireless broadband services, public safety technology officials said Fri. at a Wireless Communications Assn. Symposium panel here. Effective use of spectrum allocated by the FCC will require much education and patience on vendors’ part and will be an uphill fight, the officials said at the conference. “Public safety is still trying to figure out where we are at with the opportunities available to us,” said Donald Root, interoperability programs coordinator for the Cal. Gov.’s Office of Emergency Services: “We're on the 20- yard line on the left” while “industry is probably on the 50 yard line or the opposing team’s 45,” to the right.
SAN JOSE -- Business is booming for Iraqi wireless provider Asiacell, Chief Technology Officer Phil Moyse told the Wireless Communications Assn. Symposium here. “Our infrastructure tends to get attacked while it’s being built, but once it’s built, they tend to leave it alone,” he said Wed. “I guess everybody needs their mobile phone.”
The VoIP industry has made a “great progress” in implementing 911 technologies in the past year, the VON Coalition said in a progress report on its agreement with NENA (CD Dec 2 p1) expected to be released today (Wed.). “Industry is already stepping into the marketplace with E911 solutions that are more technologically sophisticated than were available at the time the agreement was developed,” the report said: “With additional development, VoIP 911 services promise to be far superior to the services offered to wireline customers today.” The report is expected to be handed to policy-makers, as well as widely distributed among the VoIP industry and 911 community, officials said.
Wireless phone use is running ahead of the ability of researchers to evaluate the potential health effects, the U.K. National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) warned in a new report. The paper cited other research, including a 10-year study from Sweden that found increased risk of acoustic neuromas among wireless users and a recent study that found 3G phones may affect brain function. In spite of those studies, NRPB noted that the number of mobile phone users in the U.K. has risen to 50 million, compared to 4.5 million 10 years ago. William Stewart, chmn. of the NRPB, called for further studies: “The fact is that the widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon and it is possible that adverse health effects could emerge after years of prolonged use.” The NRPB also said standards should be developed for the testing of hands-free devices to determine the extent they protect users from radio frequency exposure.
As the new year dawns and the major global satellite companies continue to grow and diversify, attorneys and analysts said they'll be keeping tabs on regional satellite operators in Asia and Latin America to see how they shape shift to succeed in the industry’s changing climate.