USTelecom: Broadband Benefits Public Safety

In comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission, the United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) says it shares the FCC's view that broadband offers numerous benefits to emergency responders and other public safety agencies that will help them to achieve their respective and diverse missions. USTelecom's members are particularly focused on aspects of cybersecurity and implementation and deployment of next generation 911 (NG-9-1-1) services. USTelecom fully supports the nation's migration of public safety and homeland security services to more advanced offerings that are possible in a broadband environment. USTelecom's member companies are working diligently to support and implement this migration, which will bring more advanced and robust public safety and homeland security services to the nation. It is imperative that at this critical juncture, the successful migration of public safety and homeland security services to a full broadband-enabled environment does not come at the expense of the security of the nation's broadband networks. Today's cyber ecosystem is a highly complex universe consisting of a global set of stakeholders engaged in a system of multifaceted cooperation designed to facilitate information sharing, reduce vulnerabilities, and to mitigate cyber threats. Telecommunications carriers play a central - but not exclusive - role in this diverse ecosystem, where the actions of independent entities directly impact other stakeholders in the network.