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News Category: News

FTC reaches settlement with GM over misuse of connected vehicle data

January 24, 2025 Sanna Antila

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with General Motors Co. and its subsidiary OnStar regarding the collection and sale of driving behaviour data from millions of vehicles in the U.S., including precise geolocation data, without proper consent. Announced in a proposed order on January 16, the settlement marks the FTC’s first action […]

The European Commission publishes 2024 report on the implementation of the EU emergency number 112

December 18, 2024 Sanna Antila

The European Commission has published its 2024 report on the implementation of the European emergency number 112. Key findings on the report include: 62% of all emergency calls in the EU are now to the single European emergency number 112—a significant increase from 2021. 2.7 million emergency calls were made by roaming end-users, representing 1.56% […]

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The European Parliament creates an Intergroup on Resilience, Disaster Management and Civil Protection

December 13, 2024 Sanna Antila

The European Parliament has approved the Intergroup “Resilience, Disaster Management and Civil Protection”. This initiative aims to prioritize civil protection, disaster management, and resilience at the core of European policies. The intergroup will strengthen European coordination and preparedness for crises by fostering collaboration between parliamentary groups, civil society, and Members of Parliament. Earlier in November, […]

A strike is causing delays in 112 emergency calls in Portugal

November 7, 2024 Sanna Antila

INEM (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica) employees have been on strike since 6.11.2024 for better career and salary conditions, disrupting emergency services. This has led to delays in emergency responses and caused some citizens to directly contact or visit fire stations when unable to reach INEM’s emergency call centre (CODU). Firefighters have been transporting patients […]

New agreements signed to extend the EU unified 112 emergency system to Ukraine

October 25, 2024 Sanna Antila

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission have committed €52 million in EU funding to support the rollout of Ukraine’s 112 emergency call system. This funding package comprises a €40 million loan from the EIB, provided through the EU for Ukraine Fund, along with two EU grants: €10 million for investment and €2 […]

The European Commission is preparing test procedures for eCall for 2025

October 24, 2024 Sanna Antila

The European Commission is preparing for test procedures for eCall for the first quarter of 2025. All new models of passenger cars and vans are now equipped with eCall, a system that automatically contacts the European emergency number 112 in the event of a severe road accident. This initiative updates the technical standards and testing […]

Picture of EU flags outside of buildings.

New EU Commission mandates: key appointments for public safety and emergency services

September 25, 2024 Sanna Antila

On 17 September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent letters to each member of the Commission outlining their mandates and responsibilities for the next five years. The President’s letters to all EU Commissioners emphasised improving prosperity, security and democracy in the EU and asked them to visit more regions of the EU more […]

Norway’s regulator to supervise Telenor following emergency call outage

September 3, 2024 Sanna Antila

Telenor, a major telecommunications provider in Norway, recently experienced an outage that disrupted emergency calls to the police’s 112 number for three hours. This incident also affected customers of other mobile providers like Telia and Ice. As a result, Norway’s National Communications Authority (Nkom) will now supervise Telenor, focusing on whether Telenor meets the required […]

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ETSI publishes technical specification document for accessible emergency communications

September 2, 2024 Sanna Antila

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published a technical specification that will provide the basis for the harmonised standard on accessible emergency communications.

A screen with symbols and a finger pointing to it.

FCC adopts a framework to speed up the transition to Next Generation 911

July 19, 2024 Sanna Antila

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules to facilitate the transition to Next Generation 911 (NG911) services across the United States. As part of the transition to NG911, phone and service companies (Originating Service Providers, OSPs) are required to format 911 calls to meet NG911 standards. The new rules adopted by the FCC […]