North Country Leader

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik today voted to advance the Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications (ALERT) Parity Act (H.R. 1353), bipartisan legislation to help bring emergency connectivity service in remote, underserved areas. This bill will support areas in rural Upstate New York and the North Country that do not have the infrastructure to support commercial mobile services capable of providing emergency services.

“I’m proud to vote to pass the ALERT Parity Act to ensure families in every county across Upstate New York and the North Country can have better access to emergency response services,” Stefanik said. “I have worked throughout my time in Congress to expand cell coverage and broadband access in the face of red tape in Albany, and this bill brings us one step closer to provide better connection for the most underserved and rural parts of New York’s 21st District.”

The ALERT Parity Act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules for satellite communications providers who want to deliver emergency connectivity service in remote and rural areas and those areas where communications infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. Under the ALERT Parity Act, the FCC will provide satellite communications providers with the necessary certainty to provide consumers with access to emergency services where and when it is otherwise unavailable.

Read full bill text here.

Original source can be found here.