This week Fletch talks about how Next Generation Emergency Services is going GLOBAL with the issue of the European Emergency Number Association's NG112 Long Term Definition document. This new standard is in concert with the North American NENA i3 NG911 standard and is to be presented at the EENA EU Emergency Services Workshop 2012 in Riga, Latvia April 18-20

This week I am turning over the keyboard and microphone to 911 legal expert Martha Buyer. Martha graciously recorded this audio version of her monthly article published in Journal of the Bar Association of Erie County, NY that discussed MLTS E911 requirements and 'location resolution' practices that are providing better information with less effort on the part of the PBX administrator.

Many experts in the industry have been predicting that 2012 will be a banner year for 911 and the evolution to NG 911, as we continue to raise the awareness of this desperately needed technological refresh.

Enabling this fundamental shift in the way we deal with calls for help, is going to require support from many levels, including regulatory and legislative reinforcement. Getting our legislators to understand the problem, is as much of an issue as the problem itself, and left up to industry lobbyists, will only ensure that the one with the most cash will be the dominant player.

911 is not a difficult topic, but it is one that is often misunderstood. Based on my readers input, presentations that list the common 911 myths are at the top of the popular list. But , why do these myths even exist?

The answer stems from the lack of education within the industry. I'm not saying that the education is missing, I'm saying that there is a lack of people taking advantage of the education, and certifications, that exist.

The State of Michigan has a bill that aims to make persons guilty of making false calls to Police a felony offense with up to 4 years in prison in an attempt to curb the rash of SWATTING incidents that have been plauging Public Safety costing millions in tax dollars and putting our 1st responders in additional danger.

On March 6th Avaya announced the Select Product Program making specific DevConnect partner products available directly from Avaya. 911ETC with their hosted E911 and Conveyant Systems with their Sentry product for Enterprise E911 were designated as SPP for their innovative E911 value add to the Avaya portfolio.

With NG911 on the way, GIS or Geographical Information Systems will provide relevant information about the location and related information about an emergency call.

Important geospatial information provides critical information to Public Safety. If GIS is wrong, then things can go badly. With ANI/ALI no longer required or potentially not available, we will be very reliant on this information.

NG911 is the hot topic in Public Safety for 2012, and PSAPs are upgrading their gear with Texting to 911 being one of the main topics. In addition to making 911 available via additional forms of communication, additional value will be realized by the Hard of Hearing and Deaf community as they can leave their bulky TTY/TDD devices behind.

Tax relief to the middle class is certainly a nice thing, but why is H.R.3630 news in a podcast and blog focused around 911?

H.R. 3630 had a rider, on page 214 of the bill. Subtitle E - Next Generation 911 Advancement Act of 2012.

Before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, (June 2, 1875) public safety was served by town criers. A town crier would walk the streets of a town and cry out for help in emergency situations. In the 1950's, independent telephone companies were very common in the United States. If you wanted the police, you dialed the police station. If you had a fire, you called the fire department. Today we dial 911 and it all started 44 years ago in a little town in Alabama.