Latest news with #NextGen911
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
Faster, stronger 911 system rolling out in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — New technology is providing Ohioans with advanced communication capabilities when calling 911. Next Generation 911 makes emergency services more efficient, especially in rural areas of Ohio, where it's critical to have a strong and reliable communication infrastructure. In Central Ohio, Union County is among 10 pilot counties in the state that are already utilizing Next Generation 911. Powell family remembers moment with pope during son's cancer fight 'The delivery of the 911 calls will be more reliable because it is based on a broadband service system,' Union County 911 Coordinator Pam Millhoan said. The new system modernizes how Ohioans interact with 911, reshaping how emergency calls are located, routed and handled to help save more. While voice calls are preferred, texting capabilities allow people who may be in distress or hard of hearing to get the help they need. 'Governor DeWine, who's always been focused on public safety, took the initiative to request substantial increase in funding for the Next Gen 911 project, which was enacted in the last operating budget,' Ohio Department of Administrative Services Director Kathleen Madden said. The Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is managing the state's long-term strategy for migration to Next Generation 911. DAS received $46 million in the state's last operating budget to create the infrastructure for the system. Furniture retailer sued by Ohio for not delivering product, issuing refunds 'It's really about saving lives and finding efficiency in emergency response times,' Madden said. According to Madden, many central Ohioans, like her, live in townships, many of which rely on mutual aid agreements between those jurisdictions to respond in the event of an emergency. 'Having the ability to pinpoint accurately, respond to an emergency, eliminates this call transfer so when you call 911, it's going right to the correct spot for that jurisdiction to respond to you,' Madden said. Madden said early data is already showing the system increases the speed of accuracy and eliminates call transfers by close to 40%. 'It's very much like how we operate today,' Madden said. 'Many of us don't have landlines anymore so having a mobile-friendly device that helps us respond and get our first responders to us in the case of an emergency is key.' Dog that fatally attacked toddler in Columbus had previous bite history, documents show According to state leaders, Next Generation 911 was a necessary upgrade of the existing 911 system to adapt to how people communicate, which is largely through mobile and digital services. 'This is just one other tool that we can use to help benefit our citizens and help our dispatchers get the information that they need to do their jobs better,' Millhoan said. Starting July 1, once all 10 pilot counties are officially certified, the rest of Ohio's counties will have five years to transition to the system. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fayetteville City Council to consider renaming two streets at next meeting, here's which ones
Related video: Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn talks future developments at Washington County Veterans Town Hall from March 2025 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A proposal that would rename two Fayetteville streets is set to be considered by the city council at its next meeting. A memo filed in the 756-page agenda for the April 15 meeting says that residents of the Heritage Village subdivision have requested the city to change two street names in the neighborhood. The two streets up for possible renaming are North Plantation Avenue and West Chattel Street in the west Fayetteville subdivision. A combined 32 homes are located on the two roads, 18 on Chattel and 14 on Plantation. Fayetteville ready to serve up first pickleball tournament The proposal said North Plantation Avenue would change to North Garden Avenue and West Chattel Street to West Reflection Street. The memo says the change would require three new road signs and the issuing of 32 address change letters. 'If approved, the GIS Office would notify the appropriate entities, notify the affected residences, make the appropriate changes to the city land record system, make changes to the utility billing database, and make changes to the NextGen911 system,' the memo said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
New Mexico expected to launch new 911 system in August
The Bernalillo County Emergency Communications Department is helping all the other 45 dispatch centers across New Mexico conduct testing for a new internet-based 911 dispatch system. (Photo courtesy of Bernalillo County) When New Mexicans call 911 in an emergency, the first question dispatchers ask is where the caller is located. Under a new statewide emergency dispatch system expected to launch in August and funded by a newly signed law, dispatchers won't have to rely on the caller and instead will be able to track the cell phone's location data. Later on, perhaps in 2026, the broadband internet powering the new 911 system is expected to allow callers to send and receive text messages from dispatchers, and share photos, live streams, videos and surveillance camera footage to help responders better understand the scene of an emergency before they get there. Bernalillo County in Central New Mexico announced Thursday that state officials have selected its Emergency Communications Department in Albuquerque as the beta site for a new call handling software that will move 911 calls away from the old wired- and radio-based network to a new one that will run through the internet. The new system, five years in the making, is called Next Generation 911. The public won't immediately notice a difference and will still have to dial 911 to receive help, but officials expect the more precise location data to result in faster emergency response times. It isn't just an upgrade in technology but will require a 'cultural shift,' Bernalillo County Emergency Communications Director Robbie McCormick told Source NM in a phone interview on Thursday. 'With any kind of advancement, it's work, but it's a blessing. It's a good thing and it's change, but we will have to take it one step at a time,' McCormick said. 'I know that it can help many, many people having this type of technology.' If someone is a victim of domestic violence, for example, it would be more safe to text a dispatcher instead of call them, McCormick said. It could also prove helpful for someone who is injured in such a way that they cannot speak, she said. Sometime further in the future, the live stream and video features could help first responders better understand a wildfire's intensity and direction, McCormick said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Stephen Weinkauf, NM 911 bureau chief at the state Department of Finance and Administration's Local Government Division, told Source NM on Thursday that every dispatch center in the state will transition to the new system over the next three months, starting with Valencia, Guadalupe and De Baca counties. He said once the entire state is plugged in, dispatchers will be able to reroute a 911 call anywhere in the state. 'The end goal of NextGen911 is to provide a more accurate 911 call-routing, and a more reliable 911 network to ensure that we can increase the level of data and situational awareness to the 911 center and then out to the first responder,' Weinkauf said. 'This will reduce the level of call transfers, and our end goal is to reduce response times.' Next Generation 911 will be able to reach all 46 emergency dispatch centers across the state because of an increase in the 911 surcharge already paid by New Mexicans who use cell phones and landlines. Customers pay $0.51 per line per month to the telecommunications companies, who then pass that money on to the government. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed Senate Bill 535, a package of bills that includes an increase to the 911 surcharge to $1 per line per month, which will raise more than $13 million in the next year and even more money in future years, according to legislative analysts. Cecilia Mavrommatis, Local Government Division director for the state Department of Finance and Administration, told Source NM on Thursday that the increased surcharge will make 911 services more equitable statewide. 'I think we're more prepared now, after this legislative session,' Mavromattis said. 'We're talking about a direct impact on people's lives. This is going to save a life somewhere, at some point.' SB535 also makes a series of changes to state laws governing the 988 Lifeline; workers' compensation; the Public Regulation Commission; and autonomy for New Mexicans with disabilities and older adults. It increases the telecommunications relay service surcharge for phone calls to other states, from 0.33% to 1.66%, which will help pay for the 988 Lifeline. 'This investment in 988 is an investment in saving lives,' Health Care Authority Secretary Kari Armijo said in a statement on Monday. 'Every New Mexican should have access to compassionate, immediate support during a mental health crisis — this funding helps make that possible.' Since 988 launched in July 2022, the HCA has paid for 988 with various temporary sources of money, agency spokesperson Marina Pina told Source NM. SB535 allows the lifeline to receive sustained annual funding, she said. The money will also go toward other crisis services that people receive through 988, including mobile crisis teams, behavioral health clinics, and crisis triage centers and other behavioral and mental health services, she said. SB535, starting in July, raises how much employers and workers pay each quarter into the Workers' Compensation Administration and the Uninsured Employers' Fund, and raises the payments again in 2028 and 2033. Employers' fees will go from $2.30 to $2.80 per quarter, and workers' fees will go from $2.00 to $2.50. SB535 also increases the Public Regulation Commission's inspection and supervision fee, charged to the utilities it supervises, from 0.506% to 0.59% of their total revenues, and creates an automatic annual increase based on a cost index published by the federal government. The increased 911 funding was initially proposed in Senate Bill 137, which passed the Senate on March 1 but never received a hearing in the House of Representatives. However, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee amended it into SB535, which began as a zombie bill. During floor debate on SB535, the House passed a floor amendment to include the Supported Decision-Making Act, which establishes a new program within the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Planning Council's Office of Guardianship for supported decision-making agreements, an alternative to adult guardianships. The program is intended to enable adults to receive decision-making support without losing their rights. The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department will help people get connected to the new program, the agency said in a news release on Thursday afternoon. 'Providing more pathways to autonomy and self-determination strengthens our communities,' ALTSD Cabinet Secretary Emily Kaltenbach said in a statement. 'This legislation will help ensure that those who need it have the necessary support to make informed decisions while maintaining their independence and dignity.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Associated Press
24-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Edison Partners Exits RapidDeploy To Motorola Solutions
NASHVILLE, Tenn. & PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 24, 2025-- Growth equity firm Edison Partners announced today the exit of its investment in RapidDeploy to Motorola Solutions, the leading provider of cloud-native next-generation 911 mapping, mobile and analytics solutions for public safety agencies. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read Motorola Solutions' announcement here. The Austin, TX-based company empowers public safety agencies across the United States with real-time intelligence to enhance emergency response and decision-making. RapidDeploy's cloud-native solutions integrate with an ecosystem of partners and applications, connecting millions of data points to deliver critical, life-saving information to public safety centers. Since 2016, RapidDeploy's technology has expanded to serve over one thousand six hundred 911 centers across 23 states, with 13 statewide contracts, democratizing public safety with cloud-native SaaS solutions. 'We are so pleased with the growth trajectory and strategic opportunity for RapidDeploy after making our initial $20M growth investment in 2023. We recognized that RapidDeploy had a unique ability to lead in a historically challenging space for new entrants,' said Chris Sugden, managing partner at Edison Partners. 'With the support of Edison's value creation resources, including Edison Director Network member Jo Kinsella, to advance the company's market leadership position, RapidDeploy CEO Steve Raucher and his team have taken the company to new heights and, with their state-of-the-art NextGen 911 technology, they've made our country's emergency response system stronger.' RapidDeploy represents one of multiple portfolio companies that support Edison's investment thesis around digitizing critical infrastructure. Two additional recent investments supporting this theme include a $15M investment made in Seismos, an AI-driven technology firm using sound to make energy production safer, cleaner and more efficient, and a $43M growth investment in 120Water, a digital water solution helping the country's 50,000 state and local water utilities to protect public health through water safety, compliance, and wastewater monitoring programs. Further, in 2021, Edison invested in Recycle Track Systems which provides on-demand refuse removal to fully integrated waste management solutions, helping companies and municipalities easily track and optimize their services. +1.917.287.3626 SOURCE: Edison Partners Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 02/24/2025 07:11 AM/DISC: 02/24/2025 07:11 AM
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Yahoo
What is Next Gen 911? Ohio Gov. DeWine announces new emergency response technology
Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced the first Next Generation 911 sites in the Ohio in Monroe and Washington Counties. The program will improve emergency response times and help save many lives. A handful of Ohio counties will be fully implementing this new technology. 'Every second counts when we are talking about saving lives,' said Governor DeWine. 'Next Generation 9-1-1 makes emergency services more efficient, especially in the rural areas of Ohio, where it is critical to have strong and reliable communication infrastructure.' Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine NG911 is a technology that offers citizens advanced communication for emergencies, including text messaging instead of just calling. It can help enhance emergency management by minimizing call transfers between 911 call centers and pinpointing caller locations more accurately using callers' cell phones. Early data from Washington County showed that 37% of emergency calls were routed directly to the 911 center servicing location, removing the need for call transfers. Monroe and Washington Counties are the first in Ohio with full implementation of the NG911 system. Eight other counties are part of the pilot program. By the spring of 2025, the statewide system is expected to be operational, with an infrastructure cost of $46 million. Currently, ten Ohio counties have migrated to use Next Generation 911, including: Athens County Carroll County Champaign County Columbiana County Hardin County Harrison County Monroe County Morgan County Union County Washington County This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 2 Ohio counties first to get Next Gen 911 tech before statewide launch
