Venable partner Jamie Barnett was quoted in an August 21, 2015 Communications Daily article on the FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s support for Next Generation 911. Chairman Wheeler expressed support for legislation to implement the program while addressing the APCO International Convention.
"Chairman Wheeler has been an outspoken advocate for Next Generation 911 and public safety, but it may not be possible to speak loud enough to make Congress act on this emerging, self-inflicted public safety crisis," said Barnett. "Even as our communications networks incorporate the latest smart technologies, 911 is falling further and further behind. Congress must invest in the 911 infrastructure at the state and local level as well as a national maps database. Chairman Wheeler was being diplomatic when he said that $115 million is a good start. W[ith] the billions of dollars that are coming in from spectrum auctions, Congress should devote at least a billion dollars of that windfall to making sure that law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs and 911 professionals have a state of the art 911 system to save lives."