NENA CEO: No 'Backtracking' in Refiled NG911 Act Omitting Specific Funding Amount
The National Emergency Number Association and other stakeholders appeared unconcerned ahead of Tuesday's House Communications Subcommittee hearing (see 2512100055) that a refiled version of the Next Generation 911 Act (HR-6505) doesn’t include a defined amount of proposed funding for NG911 tech upgrades. NENA CEO John Provenzano praised HR-6505 in an interview, as do several scheduled hearing witnesses in their written testimony. The bill would set up a NG911 grants program within NTIA to disburse money for fiscal years 2026-30. The hearing will begin at 10:15 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Provenzano emphasized that he doesn’t view HR-6505’s omission of a specific NG911 funding amount “as backtracking,” although its iteration in the last Congress allocated $15 billion for the tech upgrades (see 2303240067). “There's going to be times and places to talk about” how much funding is now needed, Provenzano told us. “We need to get moving on the NG911 system. And if that means significant [funding] but not the total amount of $15 billion in the immediate term to get moving, then that's what it means. And we'll continue to fight for” eventually allocating the full amount.
“We are appreciative of what [HR-6505 lead sponsor and House Communications Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C.,] continues to do to demonstrate that NG911 is a priority for him,” including by setting the Tuesday hearing immediately after he filed the measure last week, Provenzano said. “It is going to require creative thinking and creative minds to be able to find the dedicated funding sources that will be able to gather the bipartisan support that is necessary” to enact the NG911 grant program. NG911 advocates have been pressing Congress to identify a new funding source for the tech upgrades after Republican lawmakers decided against allocating any future spectrum auction revenue for that purpose in the July budget reconciliation package, previously known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (see 2507080065).
NENA continues to believe that an additional review of the cost of NG911 upgrades, something Hudson has advocated for since earlier this year (see 2505140062), “is not necessary, and I don’t read that as being in the cards at this point,” Provenzano said. Hudson “has his perspective, and we’ll see where he goes from there, but we believe that there’s a pretty good understanding of what the system requires.” A 2018 report from NTIA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that full deployment of the technology would cost $9.5 billion-$12.7 billion (see 1810050051). When “you layer in the work that’s already been done and the impact of inflation over time since [the 2018 study], we think we’re probably in the same ballpark,” Provenzano said.
Capt. Jack Varnado, 911 director for the Livingston Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Office and president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, is among the witnesses for Tuesday's hearing who back HR-6505 in written testimony. “This bill would establish a framework for implementing uniform, nationwide, interoperable and secure NG9-1-1 -- so these systems can fully realize their tremendous potential to enhance public safety and make a real difference in saving lives across America,” he says. “A nationwide federal grant program would help ensure that all [emergency communications centers], regardless of size or location, have the resources needed to implement end-to-end NG9-1-1 capabilities.”
In addition, Varnado backs the Emergency Reporting Act (HR-5200) and Kari’s Law Reporting Act (HR-5201). HR-5200 would direct the FCC to issue reports and hold field hearings after activating the disaster information reporting system. HR-5201 would mandate that the FCC report on the extent to which multiline telephone system manufacturers and vendors are complying with the 2018 Kari’s Law requirement that such systems give direct access to 911 without the need to dial a prefix.
Wilkinson Barker’s Matthew Gerst, testifying on behalf of CTIA, and Jennifer Manner, AST SpaceMobile's senior vice president of regulatory affairs and international strategy, also praise HR-5200 in their written testimony. Gerst says HR-6505 and the Public Safety Communications Act (HR-1519) “offer roadmaps to ensure the federal government has the expertise and resources necessary to help state and local public safety stakeholders expedite and complete the transition to NG911. CTIA supports the goals of these bills and welcomes Congressional leadership to establish a national, uniform framework for the NG911 transition.” HR-1519 would create an Office of Public Safety Communications within NTIA to administer NG911 funding and communicate policies to public and private entities. Manner supports HR-1519 and HR-6505 as well.