Upgraded 911 and reauthorized FirstNet among public safety officials’ tech priorities

The U.S. must upgrade its 911 emergency systems and enhance and reauthorize its dedicated public safety communications network if states and localities are to be able to respond to increasing threats, a House subcommittee heard this week.

Public safety officials testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology called on lawmakers to deploy Next Generation 911, an internet-based system that would make the program more resilient and make it easier to transfer digital information along the network. They also urged Congress to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority, the dedicated communications network known as FirstNet, whose authority expires in 2027.

Given the effects of recent natural disasters on communications networks and the ability for first responders to stay in contact, public safety leaders said the upgrade and reauthorization are vital. Without good communications, they said, the consequences of a hurricane, flood, wildfire or something else could be even worse.

“The ability for public safety leaders and responders to communicate is never more essential than the days immediately before and after a disaster,” Steven Newton, emergency management director for Chatham County, North Carolina, said in written testimony. “We depend on communications pathways from Government-to-Government, Government-to-Public, and Public-to-Public.  When any of these pathways fail, there are consequences. In many cases, the ability to communicate may help us prevent a disaster from becoming a catastrophe.”

Newton highlighted the impact of Hurricane Helene last year as an example of what can go wrong. The storm’s wind and torrential rain caused landslides and flooding, resulting in deaths and damage to homes, emergency response facilities, power stations, utilities and infrastructure. It also destroyed over 1,700 miles of fiber optic cable, he said, and took 74% of cell sites offline.

Upgrading the nation’s 911 service can help make things easier for residents and public safety professionals. Brian Fontes, the former CEO of the National Emergency Number Association that pushes for a nationwide Next Generation 911 system, said most calls to 911 come from wireless devices, and the smartphones making those calls can also provide text, as well as on-the-scene photos, information, videos and more.

“In a nutshell, NG9-1-1 is a suite of technologies based on commonly accepted standards that will fully modernize 9-1-1 systems — bringing 9-1-1 into the 21st-century digital age,” Fontes said in written testimony. “NG9-1-1 also includes enhanced cybersecurity protection, redundancy, increased resiliency during natural or man-made disasters, and the ability for 9-1-1 centers to transfer calls along with accompanying data between centers. With technological advances, an entire ecosystem of commercial vendors now exists, and they are continually creating new ways to improve emergency communications.”

The issue, however, is cost. Fontes pointed to a 2018 study that found it would cost between $8 billion and $12 billion to deploy Next Generation 911, which would likely be around $15 billion now when adjusted for inflation.

San Bernardino County, California Sheriff Shannon Dicus pointed to another issue with nationwide deployment: what he called the “current bureaucratic structure through which federal funds are distributed.”

“Funds for Next Generation 9-1-1 are often routed through state agencies and Offices of Emergency Services, which, while well-intentioned, may not always reflect the local urgency or infrastructure readiness of counties like ours,” Dicus said in written testimony. “We strongly urge Congress to explore flexible and direct-to-county funding options or streamlined administrative pathways to ensure local agencies can act swiftly to address the specific needs of their communities.”

Those testifying also called on Congress to reauthorize FirstNet’s authority before it expires in 2027. The reauthorization effort is subject to a wide lobbying push by city, county and local government groups, as well as public safety programs. In addition to reauthorization, Newton recommended requiring “additional hardening and resilience measures to be implemented at cell sites” utilized by FirstNet, with objectives for those cell sites to recover after an event or disaster, not just to have deployable equipment delivered.

The network “must be highly reliable, resilient and secure, especially during a disaster,” he said.

And to reflect the vital role that 911 operators play, Dicus urged Congress to pass legislation that would reclassify call takers and dispatchers as first responders, away from their current classification as “administrative and clerical” roles. Dicus said the benefits to telecommunicators and the communities they serve would be tremendous.

“This change acknowledges that telecommunicators are the critical first responders — guiding callers through lifesaving first aid, providing negotiation support during hostage situations, and gathering vital information in active shooter incidents,” Dicus said. “Reclassification will also grant access to enhanced training funding and expanded mental health resources.”

Fontes noted how much the role of a 911 dispatcher has evolved, far beyond the administrative and clerical role they currently hold.

“Today, they do much more,” he said. “They handle medical triage, such as CPR, and provide crucial situational awareness for field responders. They undergo rigorous training to learn the many standards, technologies, and procedures they must follow.”