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APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officers) Project 25/31: The Telecommunications Standards Controversy

NCJ Number
150528
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 21 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1994) Pages: 34-37
Author(s)
R D Morrison
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article reviews issues in the APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officers) Project 25/31, which is focusing on an emergency telephone system that will encompass the use of wireless telephones.
Abstract
Basic 911 provides citizens with an easy-to-remember number to call emergency services. Enhanced 911 does the same, but it also provides the dispatchers with the phone number and address of the caller. The latest in radio technology will be the personal communications network, which will allow everyone in the Nation to have a personal telephone to carry wherever they may go. Currently, the cellular systems do not provide the caller's number or location to 911 central. As the number of cellular users continues to increase, the problem also becomes more difficult. At the forefront of a national effort to standardize uniform digital two-way radio technology for public safety agencies is the APCO Project 25. Project 31 addresses the impact of the personal communications network on 911. The purpose of Project 31 is to work with industry and State and local governments to provide input for the development of new technologies. This includes the effect any future technology may have on enhanced 911. Project 25 technology will provide twice as many channels in the UHF band by splitting channels in half. If a consolidation of agencies or communications centers is in the near future, system compatibility is a cost factor worthy of an extra planning effort now.