New Jersey’s failure to spend money tagged for 911 to upgrade an aging backbone network is delaying potentially life-saving next-generation features, local government officials said in interviews. Some counties years ago upgraded local systems and equipment to be NG-911 capable. They can’t use them to their full potential until the state modernizes its network integrating local public safety answering points (PSAPs). New Jersey probably would have enough money for upgrades if it stopped moving 911 fee revenue, they said.

With scattered holes in enhanced 911 coverage around the U.S. slowly getting filled in, there's no consensus on when or if the U.S. ever will get universal coverage. Experts told us the issue could be mooted by next-generation 911 systems, though many communities without E-911 still are working toward that less-advanced goal. For a Special Report story on NG-911's rollout in New Jersey (see 1904230021).

This Special Report on Emergency Communications details the challenges of modernizing systems like 911, and other hurdles to further improving public safety. The six articles by Communications Daily journalists are the result of months of research, interviews, document reviews and public-records requests.

New Jersey’s failure to spend money tagged for 911 to upgrade an aging backbone network is delaying potentially life-saving next-generation features, local government officials said in interviews. Some counties years ago upgraded local systems and equipment to be NG-911 capable. They can’t use them to their full potential until the state modernizes its network integrating local public safety answering points (PSAPs). New Jersey probably would have enough money for upgrades if it stopped moving 911 fee revenue, they said.

Public safety issues rarely dominate the agenda of any FCC chairmen, as in 2004 when one of the biggest focuses of then-Chairman Michael Powell was the 800 MHz rebanding, aimed at protecting safety users from interference. Four years later, then-Chairman Kevin Martin pushed through a failed plan to reallocate the 700 MHz D block for public safety. The main contender, Frontline, dropped its pursuit of the band, which went unsold at auction but now is part of FirstNet. Every chairman since has focused on a few public safety issues.

During a massive emergency like California’s 2018 Thomas Fire, people are “just hungry” for information, said Brian Uhl, emergency manager for the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. “It’s extremely important to provide alerts in multiple languages if your jurisdiction has people who speak multiple languages.” The county gets emergency alert system messages in both Spanish and English. But it's one of the few localities where this happens. And that concerns some. The reasons multilingual EAS isn't common are complex, and though some support FCC action, others are focused on local control.

The FCC routinely released public safety and emergency communications documents in the evening, outside the time frame that experts recommend. This trend, seen on many other issues at the commission over more than a decade, possibly deprived stakeholders from being fully and timely informed on important issues. From Jan. 1, 2018, until Oct. 25, when Communications Daily filed a Freedom of Information Act request and the practice ceased, four such items were made public later than 5:30 p.m. Eastern when the commission's business hours end. That's according to results from the FOIA request and our database.

The FCC routinely released public safety and emergency communications documents in the evening, outside the time frame that experts recommend. This trend, seen on many other issues at the commission over more than a decade, possibly deprived stakeholders from being fully and timely informed on important issues. From Jan. 1, 2018, until Oct. 25, when Communications Daily filed a Freedom of Information Act request and the practice ceased, four such items were made public later than 5:30 p.m. Eastern when the commission's business hours end. That's according to results from the FOIA request and our database.

With scattered holes in enhanced 911 coverage around the U.S. slowly getting filled in, there's no consensus on when or if the U.S. ever will get universal coverage. Experts told us the issue could be mooted by next-generation 911 systems, though many communities without E-911 still are working toward that less-advanced goal. For a Special Report story on NG-911's rollout in New Jersey (see 1904230021).

During a massive emergency like California’s 2018 Thomas Fire, people are “just hungry” for information, said Brian Uhl, emergency manager for the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. “It’s extremely important to provide alerts in multiple languages if your jurisdiction has people who speak multiple languages.” The county gets emergency alert system messages in both Spanish and English. But it's one of the few localities where this happens. And that concerns some. The reasons multilingual EAS isn't common are complex, and though some support FCC action, others are focused on local control.