NENA dispatch
Comtech Safety & Security Technologies
Latest News

New International Alliance, Initiated by NENA, Will Work to Accelerate Next Generation Emergency Communications Worldwide
by NENA CEO, Brian Fontes

A new pact among public-safety organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe will accelerate innovation in the three-digit emergency-communications systems that serve almost 1 billion citizens.

On November 5, I had the honor of representing NENA (alongside President Monica Million and Canadian Director Holly Barkwell) and joining with leaders of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Canada (APCO Canada), the British Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (BAPCO), and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) as we pledged to work together to promote the most current and commonly accepted technologies, standards, and best practices in our field.

Specifically, the alliance will promote standards-based Next Generation emergency-communications frameworks such as the ones enabled by the i3 standard for NG9-1-1 in North America and the NG1-1-2 standard in Europe. Under both frameworks, requests for emergency help are handled in a modern, Internet Protocol-based multimedia environment, as opposed to the voice- and landline-centric frameworks of the past.

Some additional activities planned under the pact include wider dialogue and collaboration in standards development; greater participation in each other’s events; and increased sharing of research findings, training materials, and case studies that can help improve the health, wellness, and performance of emergency-communications professionals no matter which continent they work on. Further, the group hopes to serve as a facilitator for new technologies and services that can improve public safety on a global scale.

Click here to keep reading... 

Congratulations to the fifty-six 9-1-1 professionals who passed the fall 2019 ENP exam and are now certified Emergency Number Professionals! Well done! For more information on how you too can achieve this prestigious professional designation, visit the ENP webpage.


Learn, Collaborate, & Contribute at the NENA NG9-1-1 Standards & Best Practices Conference!
#NENASBP is a conference unlike any other. It is an interactive, informative, attendee-driven event where you not only learn about the standards that are spurring the development and implementation of NG9-1-1 technology and operations best practices, but also create the guidelines, resources, and documents that enable NG services, systems, and PSAPs to reach their full potential.

With your peers from across the 9-1-1 universe, you’ll discuss and work to address the most pressing NG-related issues, including: GIS and NG-data needs; location services and accuracy; interoperability; telecommunicator SOPs; procurement and transition planning; security and resiliency; social media; apps and the Internet of Things; multimedia messaging and accessibility; disaster planning; staffing, hiring, and training; and the evolution of 9-1-1 center supervision and management.

Click here to see all of the review, workshop, and roundtable sessions happening at #NENASBP!

No other event provides you with the opportunity to shape the future of 9-1-1 and impact public safety for decades to come! Don’t miss your chance to be part of it!

Learn more and register.


Stress, Wellness, & Resiliency: A NENA Critical Issues Forum
Stress, PTSD, vicarious and cumulative trauma, burnout, and a variety of other mental and physical ailments plague the 9-1-1 community. We’ve only begun to acknowledge – and fight against – the negative impact of this profession on our lives; we’ve just scratched the surface when it comes to implementing programs to meet the self- and team-care needs of our peers and coworkers. Studies show that increasing overall wellness leads to greater personal and professional satisfaction, less turnover, decreased sick leave, and higher performance... but how do we get there?

Join us on January 23-24 in Austin, TX for this first-of-its-kind event to learn about the mental-, physical-, and organizational-health processes and programs you can use to enable the much-needed change in our community’s mindset, skillset, and culture as it relates to mental health and hygiene. During this interactive day-and-a-half program, you’ll gain the tools and resources you need to keep your team healthy and performing at their best. Topics include: 

  • Managing and fighting stress and its effects
  • Recognizing, preventing, and mitigating burnout
  • Identifying the root causes of poor performance (and correcting them)
  • Combatting PTSD
  • Decreasing stress-related turnover
  • Developing and deploying peer-support programs
  • Utilizing positive-psychology leadership techniques
  • Creating a "culture of wellness"
  • Helping at-risk and struggling employees
  • Preventing suicide
  • Using NENA’s stress standard and critical-incident diffusing tool 

Learn more and register.

It’s time to renew your NENA membership! You can do it in just a few quick steps:

1. Simply log in to the NENA website. 
2. Go to your Manage Profile page. 
3. Click on Membership under the "Account History" header to view your renewal options. 
4. Pay online by check or credit card.
5. Print out a receipt for your records.

And don’t forget, group memberships are a great way to share all that NENA has to offer with everyone in your organization! And if you're retired (and have been a NENA member for at least twelve years), you can apply for our new "Retired" member category. Click here for details.

OnStar
OnStar
Training Update
How to Use Your Map to Find an Emergency Caller
Sponsored by Motorola Solutions
Wednesday, November 20 | 1PM Eastern (live) or On-Demand

One of the biggest challenges in responding to a 9-1-1 call is locating the caller. When you know how to use your Agency’s map quickly, without pause, and without failure to locate a 9-1-1 caller, it can make the difference between life and death. Join us on November 20th and learn about the three important mapping elements that must be in place and that must work together to help you locate emergency callers. Hear from subject matter experts Sam Hall and Diana Gijselaers, as they share how you can better interact with your map and identify why it may not be working the way you think it should. No matter what mapping software you use, you will walk away with a better understanding of how to utilize your map to save seconds and save lives.

Speakers: Sam Hall – Addison (IL) Consolidated Dispatch Center | Diana Gijselaers – Motorola Solutions

CEUs: Attend this webinar and receive one-half ENP re-certification point toward the six-point maximum for non-NENA courses in the Professional Development CEU/Course Credits section.

Can't attend on the 20th? Register now and you will have access to the on-demand webinar archive via the registration landing page.

Webinar Access Info: Dial-in and web-access details will be provided to attendees via email automatically upon registration.

The views expressed during this webinar are those of the sponsor and not necessarily those of NENA. NENA does not endorse any proprietary product or solution. Contact Sean Sullivan for more information on how your company can participate in NENA’s sponsored webinar program.

Communicating With Confidence
Wednesday, December 12 | 1PM Eastern (live) or On-Demand


Join NENA for the latest edition of the Women in 9-1-1 (WIN) webinar series!

The saying "It’s not so much what you say; but how you say it" does have merit for many women in leadership roles. However, it is also important to keep the audience in mind and adjust your message to the targeted group. In this hour-long webinar, learn from seasoned 9-1-1 professionals about: 

  • How to communicate more effectively with male colleagues;
  • How to communicate your message effectively to decision makers;
  • How to display confidence during business meetings;
  • How to speak up in executive meetings; and
  • The difference in communicating with female vs male colleagues.

Presenters: Karima Holmes – Washington, DC Office of Unified Communications | Mary Boyd, ENP – NENA Past President

CEUs: Attend this webinar and receive one-half ENP re-certification point towards the ten-point maximum for NENA courses in the Professional Development CEU/Course Credits section.

Can't attend on the 12th? Register now and you will receive an email after the live presentation with instructions for accessing the on-demand webinar archive.

Webinar Access Info: Dial-in and web-access details provided automatically via email upon registration.

NENA is excited to announce a new way to get easy, fast, and free training for your team! Our new TC Tips video series augments your existing program with concrete, practical, constant, and provable training modules every other week. The tips are presented by subject-matter experts and NENA instructors, and provide bite-sized, quick-hit training for TCs that they can use right away to improve their work.

Find the tips every other Tuesday – the next one drops on November 19 – on our social channels! Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified as soon as new videos are posted. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for new-video announcements.

11.18.19 | (5-day course) | Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) | Iowa City, IA | Register
11.18.19 | 9-1-1 Customer Service: Takes Seconds, Saves Minutes | Gurnee, IL | Register
11.18.19 | (3-day course) | 9-1-1 Center Supervisor Program | Dublin, OH | Register
11.18.19 | (3-day course) | Center Training Officer Program (CTO) | Franklin, IN | Register
12.02.19 | (5-day course) | Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) | McDonough, GA | Register
12.02.19 | (5-day course) | Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) | Scottsdale, AZ | Register
12.02.19 | (3-day course) | Center Training Officer Program (CTO) | Reno, NV | Register
12.09.19 | Advanced Police Dispatching | Gurnee, IL | Register
12.09.19 | SOP Development: Refining & Enhancing Your 9-1-1 Center | Wilmington, MA | Register
12.16.19 | Leadership in the 9-1-1 Center | Cambridge, MA | Register
01.13.20 | 9-1-1 Customer Service: Takes Seconds, Saves Minutes | Des Plaines, IL | Register
01.27.20 | (3-day course) | Center Training Officer Program (CTO) | Garfield, NJ | Register
01.29.20 | (3-day course) | 9-1-1 Center Supervisor Program | Chico, CA | Register  

Check out the NENA Education Calendar to see additional upcoming classes!

Association Business
Save the Date! Voting for NENA's 2020-21 Board of Directors opens on Monday, March 16. On that day, eligible members will receive an email with a direct link to NENA's online ballot along with voting instructions. Contact Member Services Director, Bri Robinson, if you do not receive a ballot. Once a member logs in, he or she will be able to review the nominations and vote. After officially casting a vote, the voter will not be able to change his or her vote or access the ballot again. This election is for the following positions:

2nd VP

Southeastern Region Director

Private Sector Director

The election for Western Region Director is uncontested, and therefore will not be open for voting (read Bruce Romero's candidate statement here). The positions of Northeastern Region Director, North Central Region Director, and Canadian Region Director will be up for election in 2021.

After the voting period has ended, the Election Committee will certify the results on Sunday, June 14 in Long Beach, CA, in accordance with the NENA Bylaws. Join us at NENA 2020 in Long Beach from June 13-18, where the results of the election will be announced and your new Board of Directors installed!

Contact the Elections Committee with any questions about the nomination process, eligibility requirements, or general election details.

Document Announcements

In recent years, 9‑1‑1 industry experts have discussed the importance of the role of professional education for the position of telecommunicator. Across North America, programs have emerged in high schools, vocational schools, and colleges in order to find the right people and expose them to what they can expect as a telecommunicator.

The NENA Standards for 9‑1‑1 Professional Education will guide the institutions that are developing or have developed 9‑1‑1 professional education programs and ensure consistency with the curriculum by providing the minimum essential elements of a professional telecommunicator training program.

You may both download this document for review and submit your comments here. All comments are due by 11:59PM Eastern on December 16, 2019. Contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions.

Policy Routing Rules (PRRs) are a powerful tool that allow 9‑1‑1 authorities to address a wide range of operational situations to ensure 9‑1‑1 calls are delivered to a PSAP that can provide assistance consistent with established mutual aid agreements. The NENA NG9‑1‑1 Policy Routing Rules Operations Guide outlines guidance to enable multi-layered call treatment policies for call diversion within NG9-1-1 using PRRs that will provide more options to a PSAP to divert calls to another destination based upon multiple conditions defined in the PRRs.

You may both download this document for review and submit your comments here. However, if you are a member of the PRR Working Group, then please navigate from the WG’s NENA Workspace homepage to the "Public Review" folder and add comments there.

All comments are due by 11:59PM Eastern on November 15, 2019. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

Having adjudicated all comments, the subject documents are now considered "stable." Per NENA IPR, Section 4.5 "Stable Form Notices" are being issued and can be viewed by clicking below.
#1 Choice for Legally Traceable Time®
Orolia
When your 911 records must stand up in court, relying on internet time just isn’t good enough. Virtually every 911 call center trusts NetClock® from Orolia (formerly Spectracom) to deliver Legally Traceable Time.®
Click Here to Discover Why
Advertisement
Washington Briefing

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently published a draft Report & Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if adopted at the commission’s November 19 meeting, will significantly improve 9-1-1’s ability to locate callers in multi-story buildings. These rules and proposals are a great step forward for 9-1-1 and for everyone who relies on public safety responders. The rules will help ensure that the telecom industry keeps the promises it made to the public in their 2015 Z-Axis Roadmap, and the FNPRM’s proposals tee up further proceedings on related issues we will face as we move forward.

Here’s a quick summary of the draft.

The R&O will:

1. Set the z-axis metric. The R&O will set a z-axis accuracy metric of ±3 meters for 80% of wireless 9-1-1 calls from all z-axis capable handsets, that is, any handsets that can communicate their vertical location without a hardware upgrade.

2. Set z-axis deployment benchmarks. Nationwide carriers will be required to deploy z-axis technology that meets this metric in the top 25 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs) by April 3, 2021 and in the top 50 CMAs by April 3, 2023.

3. Require validation of z-axis accuracy. Carriers will have to validate through testing that their z-axis technology meets the metric through the same method we use for validating x- and y-axis location accuracy.

4. Harmonize confidence requirements. Z-axis location information will now have to conform to the same confidence requirements as x-and y-axis information (90%).

5. Extend privacy protections for NEAD data. The FCC’s existing privacy and security protections for data from the National Emergency Address Database (NEAD) will now extend to any 9-1-1 geolocation data stored by a wireless carrier.

The FNPRM seeks comment on:

1. Benchmarks after 2023. Should the FCC require even more precise location accuracy metrics after 2023?

2. Floor level. Should carriers have to report a 9-1-1 caller’s specific floor level, and if so, how?

3. Tweaking deployment requirements. Instead of requiring that 80% of a CMA’s population be covered by z-axis technology, should the FCC instead require that 80% of a CMA’s buildings over a certain height be covered? Should the FCC measure compliance on a CMA-by-CMA basis at all, or should it use another delineation?

4. Non-NEAD DL services. Should carriers be allowed to use dispatchable location solutions other than the NEAD? 

Click here to keep reading... 

Featured Job Openings
Communications Manager | City of San Jose, California | San Jose, CA
Technical Services Manager - IT/Systems Administrator | I-COM 911 - Island County Emergency Services Communications Center | Oak Harbor, WA
Executive Director | Tri-Com | St. Charles, IL
Dispatcher II | Anoka County Central Communications | Anoka, MN
Telecommunicator Corner
Did you know that NENA has a great way to recognize telecommunicators who have gone above and beyond? It’s called the TC Spotlight! If you know of a TC that has done an exceptional job while handling a call, is devoted to his or her career, is a mentor to others, a great cheerleader for your agency, or just plain rocks, then we would like to help celebrate them! Share their awesome talents with the rest of the world by sending an email to tccaucus@nena.org and letting us know the nominee's name, years of service, current agency and position, and why he or she is being nominated.