Time to change the color on the maps for Wisconsin. A bill was recently introduced that would required MLTS/PBX systems in the State to address their E911 response plan. Joining me this week on the Podcast is "APN Legal Correspondent" Martha Buyer with some insight on the process of how a bill becomes a law, and comments on some interesting waivers that are proposed for Wisconsin.

The National 9-1-1 Education Coalition has selected "Be 911 Ready" as the 2013 campaign theme for the National 911 Education month starting on Monday, April 1.

Where are you right now? Could you tell 9-1-1 exactly where to find you? One of the first things that you will be asked by a 9-1-1 call taker is to provide the location of the emergency that your reporting. The call taker may not automatically know your location, or they may be asking you to confirm it. Always be aware of your surroundings, and tell the call taker the location of the emergency, or if you don't know describe it by providing landmarks such as cross streets mileposts or unique geographic surroundings. Your corporate telephone system, or PBX, may not be reporting your proper location.

BREAKING NEWS: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who has served the Federal Communications Commission since his appointment by President Obama in 2009, announced on Friday March 22, 2013, that he will be leaving that position "in the coming weeks;" confirming a rumor that had surfaced earlier in the week in Washington DC. The commissioners five year term would have been over in July of this year.

President Obama is expected to make his nomination known soon, then send to Congress for confirmation.

A popular internet rumor has been going around about dialing 112 in the US for non-life threatening emergencies. Listen as Avaya's Public Safety Solutions Manager Mark Fletcher talks about what exactly 112 is, where it's applicable, and EENA the European Emergency Number Association and their efforts to move to NG with the NG112-LTD standard. Also discussed is the EU Emergency Services Educational Workshop in Riga, Latvia next month, and Fletch's participation on a panel dealing with MLTS / PBX Location strategies with Avaya Select DevConnect Partner, Conveyant Systems, Inc.

Today we call people with phone numbers, tomorrow, maybe not. With the PSTN slated for extinction in 2018, what will happen to E911 routing based on phone numbers? NG911 fixes that problem once and for all.

The NENA Executive Board first formed a Certification Committee in 1992 to explore the development of a certification program for individuals involved in emergency number program management. After a thorough review of the certification process, the Executive Board approved the Committee's recommendation to go forward with the establishment of an Emergency Number Professional Certification Program.

The message here, is to get references. Call those references. I like to throw the vendors for a bit of a loop. I ask them to provide a BAD reference. Let's face it, not every single installation is perfect 100% of the time. I can always provide you a list of happy customers, that's easy. But the reference I really want to talk to, is the one that had problems with her implementation, and then assess how well those problems were remediated.

45 Years ago, the very first 911 call was made in the US. Each year, I get to read this inspiring story behind the event.

From a single call to a single phone in a single building, to over 250 Million calls each year to nearly 7000 centers across the US, 3 simple digits can save your life.

Effectively delivering real-time location data to a 911 center has been impossible, up to now. Find out how Avaya Select Product Partner Conveyant Systems is using Smart911 to break that barrier and delivering NG911 information Over The Top of the legacy E911 network, with rich multimedia streams from the enterprise network.

From time to time, people report glitches in the E911 system that cause a call to be miss-routed, and ultimately some less than desirable results.

Find out how Muskogee, OK was confused with Muskogee, GA that caused an E911 call to be horribly misrouted, not by technology, but by human error.