On October 27, APCO met with representatives of the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to discuss the FCC’s proposed rules to facilitate Next Generation 9-1-1. APCO explained the public safety community’s objectives for NG9-1-1 and offered several recommendations. For example, the FCC should require interoperability between 9-1-1 service providers to facilitate the transition to NG9-1-1 and support public safety. APCO also encouraged the FCC to evaluate the role of emerging over-the-top solutions for delivering multimedia such as live video from 9-1-1 callers to ECCs. These solutions are still being explored but are changing the way the 9-1-1 community thinks about achieving NG9-1-1, and they likely have implications for the FCC’s regulatory approach. A letter describing the meeting can be found here.
