Executive Council Report

December 2007

 

Executive Board Meeting August 2007

Budget review – There were some fiscal issues of concern.  Revenue is down mainly as a result of many fewer AFC applications being received and processed.  Some belt tightening was identified, and some staff positions that were open will be left open.  Overall report is that the Association is fiscally sound but measures needed to be taken to adjust expenditures versus income.

Annual dues increased to match the increase in the CPI.

 

Executive Offices and Board of Officers

November marked the official launch of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) with its first board meeting held on November 2nd. The APCO Board's appointment of Past President Craig Jorgenson to represent APCO on the Board of Directors for the PSST was officially confirmed at this first Board meeting, and, as noted last month, the Trust also selected Cyren Call to serve as its agent/advisor to assist in the preparation of the statement of requirements (SOR), the negotiation of the network sharing agreement (NSA), and the operation of the public safety portion of the network once it is complete. To ensure a higher level of understanding of public safety's needs, the PSST held a series of meetings with prospective bidders from November 16 through November 28, 2007. These meetings were scheduled at the request of the potential bidders to identify any additional or different actions as well as questions that should be considered to enhance the prospects for the successful development and implementation of the public/private partnership. The PSST plans to release Version 2.0 of this document today, the purpose of which is to provide clarifications to Version 1.0 identified during meetings with prospective D Block bidders. It will also be the final version released prior to the auction.

As a follow up to the burgeoning program exploration involving training of returning Gulf War veterans for careers in public safety communications, Executive Director Rice met in Boston at Senator John Kerry's district office, with the Senator's staff and representatives of Middlesex College, the Northeast Municipal Law Enforcement Council, the US Department of Labor and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

The mission of this program is to provide a high quality education and training program to veterans that will promote professionalism and provide the necessary skills for a successful career in the field of public safety communications. A pilot effort will be undertaken within the footprint of the Northeast Municipal Law Enforcement Council's 47 member jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with in the intent to scale-up statewide and subsequently nationwide as funding becomes available. Ongoing discussions with federal agencies

Membership

Invoices are in the mail! Let your chapter members know to keep an eye out for theirs! Members can pay their dues automatically online. Simply go to http://www.apco911.org/new/membership/join.php and click on "renew dues." Paying your dues online ensures immediate credit and updating of your membership record. Don't forget to click through "My Information" and update your contact information.

The membership card has a new look! We are very excited for you to receive the updated membership card. Membership cards continue to be sent each month. There is no down time while renewals are being processed. This means, if you pay in October you will receive your card in November, if you pay in November you will receive your card in December, and so on. Please inform your chapter members of this policy. We count on you to spread the word and help us to identify potential problems early.

Some important dates:
December 31 - all memberships expire
January 15 - deadline for declaring candidacy
April 1 - deadline to nominate a PSAP award winner
May 1 - APCO Scholarship Application deadline

Conference

 

Baltimore was a record breaking year across the board.  We had a total of 6,060 attendees.  Another attendance goal was attained of having a majority of attendees be non-exhibitors, indeed 55 percent of registrants were unrelated to exhibiting organizations.  This was so even with a strong showing by 375 exhibitors who maxed out our exhibit floor space at 83,000 square feet.  We also broke sponsorship records by attracting a total of 38 sponsoring companies. This included 12 new sponsors, the largest growth year for new sponsors. We eclipsed the original sponsorship goal of $350,000 by garnering $445,400 in sponsorships.

 

The SuperSaver registration form is available to download at apco2008.org. The price for the SuperSaver is $315 for members only. Please take advantage of this discount before March 7! Online registration should be open in the next couple of weeks

 

The 2008 Executive Council Mid-Year Meeting will take place at the Orlando Airport Marriott on Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27.

 

Communications Center and 911 Services

 

On August 5, George Mason University’s Center for Social Science Research in Virginia was officially named as the entity that will spearhead the research component of APCO International’s Next Generation of Project RETAINS.  The Next Generation of Project RETAINS will include assessing the success of APCO Project RETAINS by evaluating how RETAINS has benefited those agencies that have used the Project RETAINS Effective Practices and Online Toolkit. The Next Generation of Project RETAINS will also include a random sample of communications centers across the nation to gauge the current levels of retention and turnover to ascertain any effect APCO Project RETAINS may have had on the overall public safety communications industry and will research the role of Radio Dispatcher in a communications center.  

 

Institute

 

On August 6 in Baltimore, APCO Institute graduated the first class of Registered Public-Safety Leaders.  By completing the Leadership Certificate Program, a 12-month program in an eight-month schedule, they have already demonstrated their commitment and dedication to our industry and association. 

Government Affairs

On November 13, the House of Representative passed 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007 (H.R. 3403) 406 - 1. The key provisions of the bill are:

  • The bill would obligate every IP-enabled voice service provider to provide 911 and E-911 service in accordance with the Commission requirements in effect on the date of enactment of H.R. 3403 as such requirements may be modified by the Commission from time to time. The bill would also provide that nothing in H.R. 3403 be construed as altering, delaying, or otherwise limiting the ability of the Commission to enforce the rules adopted in the Commission's First Report and Order in WC Docket Nos. 04-36 and 05-196, as in effect on the date of enactment of the 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007, except as those rules are modified by the Commission from time to time.
  • The bill would give VoIP providers access to the capabilities needed to provide 911 and E-911 service from any entity with ownership or control over those capabilities, the same rights, including rights of interconnection, and on the same rates, terms, and conditions as would be applicable to providers of commercial mobile service, subject to regulations promulgated by the Commission
  • The bill would provide that nothing in H.R. 3403, the Communications Act of 1934, or any Commission regulation or order prevents States or their political subdivisions from imposing or collecting 911 or E-911 fees, so long as those fees are obligated or spent in support of 911 or E-911 services and do not exceed fees imposed or collected from other telecommunications service providers for specific classes of customers. For example, if a State or its political subdivision imposes a 911 fee on wireless or wireline carriers that consists of one rate for residential customers and another rate for business customers, the State or its political subdivision may collect no more from VoIP providers for the same classes of customers. The bill would also require the Commission to submit an annual report to Congress on the status of the collection and distribution of 911 and E-911 fees by States and their political subdivisions, including whether fees were used for the purposes specified by each State.
  • The bill would direct the E-911 Implementation Coordination Office to create a plan for a transition to an emergency network that is Internet-based.
  • The bill would give PSAPs, a provider, or a user of VoIP the same protection from liability claims granted to wireless and wireline entities, and ultimately would benefit intergovernmental entities by protecting them from such claims.
  • The bill would authorize the Commission to compile and make available information about PSAPs and 911 components to assist VoIP providers in complying with the requirements of H.R. 3403 if the availability of such information would improve public safety. Such information may include PSAP contact information, contact information for providers of selective routers, testing procedures, classes and types of services supported by PSAPs, or other information concerning 911 elements that the Commission concludes would assist VoIP providers in complying with this section. The bill would also permit the Commission to give such information only to wireline carriers, wireless carriers, VoIP providers, other emergency services providers, or the vendors to, or agents of, any such carriers or providers. The bill would direct the Commission to make such information available in a manner that protects the security of the emergency services infrastructure.

The bill has been referred over to the Senate. The Senate has two options, it can either approve the House version of the bill or pass the IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007 (S. 428). If the Senate passes S. 428 then there will be a conference between the House and Senate to address the differences in both bills. If the Senate approves the House version without any changes then the bill will go directly to the President to be signed in to law.

On November 20, Federal Communications Commission (Commission) finally released the Order that granted APCO's request for declaratory ruling that sought clarification of the geographic area over which wireless carriers must provide the levels of location accuracy required under the Commission's rules, as well as the degree to which carriers must provide confidence and uncertainty data on the level of location accuracy to Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). In its request, APCO proposed that carriers should be required to meet the Commission's location accuracy requirements at the PSAP service area level.

The Report and Order (Order) which clarifies that wireless carriers must meet the Enhanced 911 (E911), Phase II location accuracy requirements at the PSAP service-area level. To accomplish this, the Order requires carriers to meet interim, annual benchmarks over the next five years in order to ensure that they achieve PSAP-level compliance no later than September 11, 2012.

To ensure that carriers are making progress toward compliance with the location accuracy requirements at the PSAP level, the Commission has established a series of interim requirements. These annual benchmarks include interim progress reports, as well as requirements to measure the Commission's accuracy requirements on progressively smaller geographic levels until the PSAP-level is met. This includes:

  • Fulfilling the Commission's location accuracy requirements within each Economic Area in which a carrier operates by September 11, 2008;
  • Satisfying the location accuracy requirements within each Metropolitan Statistical Area and Rural Service Area that the carrier serves; and demonstrating significant progress toward compliance at the PSAP-level, including achieving this requirement within at least 75 percent of the PSAPs the carrier serves, by September 11, 2010; and
  • Achieving full compliance with the PSAP-level location accuracy requirements by September 11, 2012.

APCO-NENA Board Retreat

Key Items Developed from the Retreat

􀂃 Possible TERT Conference in New Orleans in June, 2008

􀂃 The setting of broad terms for an agenda or approach for the Location Technology Summit, to be held November 8-9, 2007

􀂃 Preliminary planning efforts for concurrent/consecutive winter events/programs in 2009

􀂃 Possibly blending or merging the APCO and NENA Washington dinners in 2009

􀂃 Consideration of offering joint Governance Training for the APCO and NENA Boards

􀂃 Identification of scope for the Technology Summit

􀂃 Collaboration of APCO and NENA on an R&D initiative through CTIA

Next Steps Developed from the Retreat

􀂃 Staffs from APCO and NENA will begin inventorying and comparing training provided by the two organization’s institutes

􀂃 Began preliminary discussions with CTIA to ensure that public safety’s requirements are factored into emerging technologies

􀂃 Regularly translating new public safety technology issues into tangible actions Testing for location technology

􀂃 Convening at least three joint APCO and NENA Board meetings a year

􀂃 Ensuring that any new technologies are Type-accepted and Type-approved by the Federal Communications Commission

Conclusion

The retreat presented a unique opportunity for candid discussion, where participants from various public safety communications sectors were able to share innovative approaches and practices that can be used to improve services provided by public safety practitioners. Some closing thoughts included: the belief that continual and regular dialogue among all parties will lead to the improvement in the delivery of effective public safety communication services; that there is a need to address the long-term work related next generation technologies while also dealing with current transitional issues; and to deemphasize the use of specific three-digit dialing systems for international emergency services access, while focusing more on technology that will provide

ubiquitous access. In conclusion, attendees decided that this group, or one similar in construct, should be used as a platform for holistic planning efforts reaching as far out as 10 to 15 years in the future.