The national 911 emergency response system is in the midst of its own code red.
The lack of federal funding to upgrade aging 911 systems has created significant disparities in state emergency response services, with older operations plagued by outages and longer response times.
Last month, for instance, Massachusetts was hit with a statewide 911 outage that lasted about two hours — making it at least the eighth state with a service interruption in the United States this year. The outage was blamed on a safety feature that was supposed to provide protection against cyberattacks and hacking. But it was just one more such episode in the headlines.
More than three-quarters of call centers experienced outages in the past year, based on the latest Pulse of 9-1-1 Survey by the National Emergency Number Association and Carbyne, which makes public safety technology products.
In Congress, lawmakers have looked at ways to pay to modernize 911 systems by using revenue from the Federal Communications Commission — specifically, revenue that comes from the FCC’s auctioning of the rights to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. There’s a catch: The Senate in March 2023 let the FCC’s authority to auction spectrum bands lapse.
Lawmakers have floated proposals, but final plans are in limbo. For example, legislation sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) would renew the auction authority until September 2026 and provide almost $15 billion in grants from auction proceeds for upgrading 911 systems. The bill unanimously passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May 2023.
With funding attempts in Congress stalled, states and localities are taking a piecemeal approach — tapping general funds or other resources to modernize operations. Florida, Illinois, Montana and Oklahoma passed legislation in 2023 to advance or fund next-generation 911 systems, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Most of the country’s roughly 6,000 call centers were built using analog rather than digital technologies. Next-generation 911 systems are more resilient, with better backups in case of an outage, advocates say. They allow callers to share photos and videos or text messages, and they also improve location accuracy.
But upgrades by states, cities and counties are spotty — generally happening in jurisdictions with deeper pockets. Proponents say billions of dollars in federal funding is urgently needed to ease disparities and build a stronger national emergency response system.
“Now there are haves and have-nots,” said Jonathan Gilad, vice president of government affairs at NENA, which represents 911 first responders. “Next-generation 911 shouldn’t be for people who happen to have an emergency in a good location.”
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