Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety (CC:IPS)

Public safety organisations representing members in, Canada, the European Union, United Kingdom, and the United States signed a first-of-its-kind agreement on 4th November 2019 to work together to improve the emergency communications systems that serve nearly one billion people worldwide.

Under the pact, known as the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety CC:IPS, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Canada (APCO Canada), the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), the British Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (BAPCO), and NENA: The 9-1-1 Association pledge to promote, support and improve emergency communications services utilising the most current and commonly accepted technologies, standards, and best practices.  More recently, the coalition has grown to include, amongst others, APCO International, the National Emergency Communications Working Group – Australia & New Zealand (NECWG-A/NZ) and the Organisation of American States which brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas.

Specifically, the groups have committed themselves to promote, among a wide range of topics, Next Generation emergency communications, services, networks and systems such as the i3 standard for NG9-1-1 in North America and the NG1-1-2 standard in Europe. Under these frameworks, calls for emergency help are handled in a modern, Internet Protocol-based multimedia environment, as opposed to the voice- and landline-centric frameworks of the past.

“This collaborative effort is essential as we look to improve and innovate emergency communications nationwide,” said Cindy Sparrow, President of APCO Canada. “We look forward to deepening our relationships and sharing information to improve our emergency response systems.” 

“We are pleased to collaborate with our colleagues from other nations in promoting access to effective life-saving services,” said Demetri Pyrros, President of EENA. “As the industry shifts to Next Generation technologies, we want to ensure that our standards and policies are encouraging the most effective methods for emergency assistance.”

“This is an exciting time for our industry,” said Ian Thompson CEO of BAPCO. “We are grateful for this opportunity to work alongside our peers to provide consistent, reliable emergency communications to citizens around the globe.”

“NENA is proud to join this alliance as we work toward a common goal of providing the public with fast, convenient and reliable access to emergency assistance when it matters most,” said Monica Million, President of NENA. “We are committed to collaborating with these like-minded organisations to ensure that emergency communications are modernised and made more accessible all over the world.