Virginia Chapter
National Emergency Number Association
Announcements
Officer Elections – Hershel Kreis (
Virginia APCO/NENA Spring Conference
Presentations –
Presentations from the 2009 APCO/NENA Spring Conference are available for
viewing and/or download on the Chapter Conferences page.
Chapter Listserv – A new Chapter Listserv is now
active. All members with valid e-mail
addresses were subscribed upon activation.
For information on the VA-NENA listserv, visit Listserv.
Fall Conference - The Conference Committee for the 2009 Virginia APCO/NENA/Interoperability
Conference to be held October 27-30 in
In The News
Iowa
9-1-1
Black
Hawk County First 9-1-1 Call Center to Participate in Landmark Effort Enabling
Speech and Hearing Impaired Citizens to Communicate Directly With 9-1-1 for
Help; Service to go live this July
The
organizations worked collaboratively to support the public safety needs of the
nation’s 31 million citizens with speech and hearing impairments who rely upon
text messaging as a primary means of communications. Currently they must
communicate with 9-1-1 operators using a relay center or a specialized
communications device.
"The
successful testing of text messaging to 9-1-1 from a wireless telephone is a tremendous emergency services advancement for individuals
who have sensory disabilities," said Richard Ray, chair of the National
Emergency Number Association's (NENA) Accessibility Committee. “I urge public
safety agencies to accelerate the deployment of this technology and to
encourage, support and celebrate efforts such as this."
“Increasingly
text is becoming the way people communicate and public safety must be able to
support 9-1-1 text messaging,” said Chief Thomas Jennings, chairman, Black Hawk
9-1-1 Board. “We are excited to have the opportunity to participate on a
solution to enable 9-1-1 texting for the Speech and Hearing impaired community
as well as set the stage for adoption by the larger texting population.”
“The
state of
The
new enhancement to 9-1-1 utilizes Short Message Service (SMS) to establish a
text conversation directly between the ‘caller’ and the 9-1-1 operator.
While SMS was not initially developed for use in public safety it has gained
widespread acceptance by the Speech and Hearing Impaired Community and is
becoming an increasingly popular form of communication. CTIA - the Wireless
Association, a wireless industry organization, estimates that the number of SMS
text messages exceeded one trillion in 2008. As part of this program techniques
have been identified that will improve the overall speed and reliability of
9-1-1 SMS to make it even better for public safety communications.
“This
effort was driven by our desire to support the public safety needs of the
speech and hearing impaired,” said George Heinrichs, Intrado president. “This
breakthrough will not only enhance their safety but the safety of others who
find themselves in special circumstances where texting is the best available
means to contact 9-1-1.”
“We
are excited to be a part of this landmark project to enable our deaf and hard
of hearing subscribers to text message to 9-1-1,” said Michael Haskins, i
wireless chief executive officer and chief operating officer. “i wireless has a strong commitment to public safety and to
bringing innovative services to our customers, and this pioneering project
creates a new method for requesting emergency services. We are proud to be the
first wireless carrier to provide this capability.”
“The
ability to reach the 9-1-1 center by text message will undoubtedly benefit
millions of Americans, especially those who are members of the Speech and
Hearing Impaired Community who rely on text messaging as their sole form of
mobile communication,” said Brian Fontes, chief executive officer, NENA.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates what can be achieved through commitment and
dedication to improving public safety and helping those who rely on 9-1-1 for
help.”
The
trial solution in
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Welcome to
the Virginia Chapter’s website. The
Executive Board has developed this site to provide key information and
resources for its members, other 9-1-1 professionals, and the general public
served by
Last Updated June 17, 2009