Startling Suggestion—Just 3 PSAPs Nationwide?

During a routine meeting of an obscure Federal Communications Commission (FCC) task force last week, one of the agency’s commissioners raised an amazing possibility—the nation’s 5,900 public safety answering points (PSAP) might be consolidated and reduced to just three. Whether that’s even physically or politically possible wasn’t explored by commissioner Michael O’Reilly, but it certainly raised the eyebrows of attendees at the Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture (TFOPA) meeting. As recounted by Urgent Communications, O’Reilly told the meeting “By some estimate, the current structure would be able to operate at optimal efficiency with as few as three [PSAPs] nationwide.” He didn’t explain if he meant physical or virtual PSAPs, the latter a possibility after the NG911 project is completed over the next 10 years. Watch the video of the entire 2 ½-hour meeting here.