Industry group urges Congress to fund next-generation 911 upgrades in national parks

An industry group this week called on Congress to speed up deployment of next-generation 911, warning that outdated emergency systems are ill-equipped to handle modern communications, especially in national parks.

In testimony before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Lee Ann Magoski, president of the National Emergency Number Association, endorsed the Making Public Lands Safer Act, legislation aimed at improving emergency response capabilities for millions of park visitors. If passed, the bill would require the National Parks Service assess its emergency communication systems and create an installation plan to upgrade to modern digital technology. 

Magoski highlighted several challenges with aging infrastructure, including its inability to accurately locate callers in remote areas and frequent misrouting of emergency calls to the wrong public safety answering points, delaying response times.

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