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Rep Anna Eshoo

National Journal: Next-Generation 911 Technology Requires New Money and Policies

October 14, 2011

Rep. Eshoo recently toured the Washington Office of Unified Communications to discuss her bipartisan legislation, the Next Generation 911 Advancement Act, that she authored with Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL). At the event, National Journal staff reporter Josh Smith spoke with Eshoo about her legislation. An excerpt of his article is below:

The Washington Office of Unified Communications fields 4,000 emergency calls a day, but not a single text message makes its way to 911 dispatchers. At least not yet.

Emergency officials, government regulators, and lawmakers are seeking to change that by pushing forward with next-generation 911 technology, which could allow people to send text, photos, video, and other types of data in case of an emergency.

"People expect to be able to communicate with their smart phones," said Brian Fontes, CEO of the National Emergency Number Association, who joined Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., when they toured D.C.'s central dispatch center on Friday.

The lawmakers are promoting their Next Generation 911 Advancement Act, which would allocate $250 million in competitive grants to help state and local governments transition to new 911 systems.

Eshoo, an influential voice on telecom issues in the House, said she expects the funding bill to be folded into broader spectrum legislation.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, many federal grants helped emergency communications systems become more interoperable, but none helped the D.C. center upgrade to next-generation technology, said Teddy Kavaleri, chief information technology officer for the D.C. Office of Unified Communications.

To read the entire article, please click here.