INSIGHTi Emergency Communications Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress Updated January 29 2019 Overview First responders and other emergency personnel use emergency communications systems to communicate with each other during day-to-day operations and large-scale disasters Emergency communication systems are also used to enable communications between the public and response agencies Emergency communication systems include     911 systems that receive calls from the public requesting assistance or reporting an emergency and that relay those calls to response agencies e g local police and fire departments land mobile radio LMR systems that allow police firefighters and emergency medical service EMS workers to communicate with each other during day-to-day operations and disasters the First Responder Network FirstNet the nationwide public safety broadband network which is currently under deployment and scheduled for completion in 2022 will enable response agencies at all levels of government to communicate via voice and data e g text videos and alerting systems that notify people of emergencies and warn people of danger These systems often rely on different technologies that can inhibit interoperability and response For example 911 systems are not able to send 911 text messages to first responders in the field State and Congressional Research Service https crsreports congress gov IN11028 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congressional Research Service 2 local police and fire agencies use various radio technologies that can connect responders within their agency but may not be interoperable with surrounding systems Federal state and local public safety agencies are investing in Internet Protocol IP -based technologies to improve communications coordination and response The federal government has created an IP-based national alerting system that allows authorized agencies to send a single alert through multiple alerting systems The federal government has also invested in FirstNet a nationwide seamless IP-based highspeed mobile communications network that will enable public safety users to communicate via voice and data with other public safety agencies There is also interest at all levels of government in upgrading 911 systems to next generation IP-based systems to enable callers to share data and to interconnect systems Opportunities and Challenges of New Technologies As emergency communications systems converge toward a common IP-based platform there are opportunities and challenges Advancements in geo-location technologies present opportunities to find 911 callers more easily however integration of these technologies into legacy 911 systems is challenging Advancements in alerting have enabled officials to send alerts to mobile phones yet some people still rely on landline phones for communications Interconnecting systems could improve information sharing but presents challenges in terms of privacy and security of data flowing across multiple networks IP-based technologies enable emergency communications systems to interconnect creating the potential for nationwide systems The emergence of nationwide systems may create a need for new policies that integrate these new technologies into response plans and protocols and policies that support collaborative planning training and exercises across all levels of government to improve response Further migration to new technologies is costly Not all jurisdictions may be able to fund technology upgrades Adoption of new technologies may also require upgrades to and investments in emergency communications systems and private telecommunications networks Issues for the 116th Congress The 116th Congress may continue its oversight of the effectiveness of emergency communications before during and after natural or man-made disasters e g hurricanes wildfires and the roles and responsibilities of federal state and local agencies and private telecommunications providers during response Congress may also to examine the effectiveness of federal programs established to promote and support emergency communications including    National 9-1-1 Program administered by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA in the U S Department of Transportation which provides federal leadership and coordination in supporting and promoting optimal 911 services First Responder Network Authority FirstNet the federal authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration NTIA in the U S Department of Commerce established to create the nationwide public safety broadband network Integrated Public Alert and Warning System IPAWS the national alerting system administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA  Emergency Communications Division in the U S Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA which is responsible for promoting interoperable and coordinated communications across all levels of government and  federal grant programs that fund emergency communications Congressional Research Service 3  Congress may also focus on the activities of the Federal Communications Commission FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau PSHSB which administers FCC policies related to emergency communications including rules for carriers supporting 911 services state and local use of 911 fees public safety spectrum public alerts including rules for carriers delivering wireless alerts to mobile phones disaster management and reporting of private network outages and restoration efforts Author Information Jill C Gallagher Analyst in Telecommunications Policy Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service CRS CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role CRS Reports as a work of the United States Government are not subject to copyright protection in the United States Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS However as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material IN11028 · VERSION 4 · NEW