The nation's 911 system is on the brink of its own emergency

Just after lunchtime on June 18, Massachusetts’ leaders discovered that the statewide 911 system was down.
A scramble to handle the crisis was on.

Police texted out administrative numbers that callers could use, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu gave outage updates at a press conference outlining plans for the Celtics’ championship parade, and local officials urged people to summon help by pulling red fire alarm boxes.
About 7 million people went roughly two hours with no 911 service. Such crashes have become more of a feature than a bug in the nation’s fragmented emergency response system.

Outages have hit at least eight states this year. They’re emblematic of problems plaguing emergency communications due, in part, to wide disparities in the systems’ age and capabilities, and funding of 911 systems across the country. While some states, cities, and counties have already modernized their systems or have made plans to upgrade, many others are lagging.

The 911 system is typically supported by fees tacked on to phone bills, but state and local governments also tap general funds or other resources.

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The nation's 911 system is on the brink of its own emergency

911 outages have hit at least eight states this year. Problems plaguing emergency-response communications include differing capabilities and funding.

www.usatoday.com

 

[1LoverofGod]

Honestly, while some reports of things like this may be true and the "threat of the grid going down", I tend to believe that some of this is to keep people in a state of panic and fear. That's what those who want people to submit to giving up freedoms to let those in power to control everything we do.
Call me a conspiracy theorist but they make it too obvious.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Many 911 systems have been inadequate for many, many years. Sometimes huge disparities between rural and urban, and between different states. As early as 2003, I remember calling 911 in the St Louis, MO area and getting a busy signal, having it ring 25 times and then disconnecting, or being answered by an automated system that would tell you your estimated wait time, and (depending on jurisdiction), sometimes how many callers were ahead of you. On one momentous occasion, the estimated wait was 34 minutes!

Part of the issue is misuse of 911 (people trying to get other people in trouble by calling 911 and lying)
Part of the issue is rising crime, accidents, etc. and need to call police
Part of the issue is rising drug overdoses and need to call EMS/ambulance
Part of the issue is budget, expense of facilities, equipment, training, and paying dispatchers

It all comes down to insufficient capacity.

Modern 911 centers are awesome and have a LOT of capabilities, which save lives and property all the time. The Dispatchers/Call-Takers, whether in modern or older facilities, rarely get acknowledged for their indispensable role in the chain of life, and they are often way underpaid for what they do. It's an extremely stressful job with huge responsibilities, must meet the same background requirements as police (sometimes stricter if also doing medical dispatch), and extremely high training/on-going training requirements.

There isn't a national 911 system.
911 Dispatch Centers can and do interact with one another, but the actual centers/facilities are usually operated by counties and individual jurisdictions. Some states' 911 centers are more closely linked than others, but other than State Police/Highway Patrol Dispatch facilities, the people manning them are generally County and Municipal employees (there are some contract facilities with non-government employees, but not many)