FCC PS Docket 20-291
UPDATE December 8, 2020
FCC Issues 12th Annual Fee Diversion Report https://www.fcc.gov/general/911-fee-reports
December 2, 2020
Today, iCERT filed Reply Comments in the FCC's "Fee Diversion" proceeding, PS Docket 20-291. The document is available at this link - iCERT Reply
"While it is important to note that not all iCERT members agree on every issue or comment in a document, and many file their own separate, more detailed, positions in FCC proceedings, iCERT as a whole is encouraged by the Commission's opening of this docket to examine the troubling issue of 9-1-1 fee diversion," noted Kim Robert Scovill, iCERT's Executive Director.
iCERT is the nation’s only trade association focused exclusively on the commercial emergency response sector. Our member companies represent a broad cross section of companies with a collective interest in advancing innovative solutions that will improve public safety communications and help protect first responders and the public they serve. This includes companies that develop, provide, and support 911 systems, services, and equipment that the public safety community and the public rely on every day. Unfortunately, these efforts are undermined when funds intended for 911 support are diverted for other purposes.
As the filing explains, "Each year, public safety officials answer more than 200 million emergency calls from individuals seeking help for themselves or others. The effectiveness of the 911 system in answering those calls and dispatching the right help to those in need is often the difference between life and death. In order to respond effectively, however, public safety agencies must have the equipment, services, applications, personnel, and training that makes the 911 system work – and all of that requires public funding. Diversion of those funds for other purposes creates substantial harm to first responders and the public they serve by denying 911 authorities the resources needed to ensure timely and effective emergency response."
iCERT is a frequent commenter at the Federal Communications Commission on issues related to public safety technology, its regulation, 911/NG911, and public safety funding.