1997 Conference
National Emergency Number Association
by Gary Allen, Editor
It's part college, part cocktail party, part science and a whole lotta hoot-nanny. It's the annual conference of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), a group of over 5,000 professionals dedicated to "One Nation, One Number."
Each year they meet in a major American city to share information, learn about the latest technology, laws, regulations and programs that promote the use of the 9-1-1 emergency number. This year's conference is being held at the Baltimore Convention Center, along the scenic Inner Harbor of this city.
The four-day conference kick's off with a welcoming breakfast, followed by a daily series of seminars and classes that touch on every aspect of telecommunications and public safety. The conference also hosts one of public safety's largest trade shows, where manufacturers and marketers can directly pitch their products to those who are seeking solutions.
This year's conference comes after a year of fierce activity on the public safety front--the FCC has authorized 311 for voluntary use in handling non-emergency calls, which NENA opposed as a mandate. The FCC has also issued ruling on the use of 711 for handling TTY calls, and made progress in its mandate that wireless carriers provide ANI/ALI information to public safety answering points (PSAPs). No doubt, all of these issues will be discussed during the conference.
To bring our readers direct and up-to-the-minute news about the conference, we posted exclusive, same-day stories and photos from the NENA conference and trade show on the DISPATCH Monthly Web site. It was the first time a news organization has used the Internet to provide public safety conference news on-line, while the conference is still in session.
We're proud of the coverage we provided and hope that, even after the conference, it will be useful to you. You can select stores either day-by-day, or by subject, from the list below.
All stories and text copyright 1997, 911 Dispatch Services, Inc.
