It’s now being introduced to our remote mountain town by the federal government.

Soon, there will be no more simply dialing three numbers on your keypad, NG911 is going to be next-level complicated. CAO Joe McCulloch appears to be gung ho. He reports in his published itinerary that on April 8^th he updated the NG911 grant application. It was the only item on his itinerary for that day. Did he take the time to read the fine print? Let’s hope so.

When I researched and tried reading the fine print and it was an exhaustive labyrinth of complex jargon. Trying to find normal-speak information was impossible—because the documents aren’t supposed to be readily understandable?

Issues regular folk like me would be curious to know were absent—Who will pay for this? What are the company names? How will it work? What will be required of us to participate? How will my private information be protected? Who will see my private information?…etc.

NG911 has to bribe takers with up to $100K grant in order to get it. Since when do you get anything for free? So I emailed Joe, our accessible CAO who sees the public for two hours on the first Thursday of every month.

April 14, 2025

Hello Joe

Have you seen the contract yet for this plan to adopt NG911 in return for [grant] money upwards of $100K?

Anyone administering the town’s future commitments to something as sweeping as the NG911 needs to read the fine print of the contract and be prepared to explain it. There should be discussion and pubic consultation before any commitment.

On the surface, an upgraded 911 system appears to be a benefit that nobody could argue with, but the devil is in the details.

Data overreach is common these days and we would not want to find out that our privacy was given away when we should have been protected from privacy intrusion and data theft.

What is involved in “real time texting” for example? And very important, what exactly is meant by “other data transfers”?

Thank you,

Troy Anderson

NO REPLY. It being the only item on his itinerary for that day (page 120) perhaps that means he spent some time examining the concept documents instead of simply being a Yes man, we’ll take the free money, man.

Here’s what a couple of hours of my digging revealed.

NG911 purports to be the best thing since sliced bread for police, fire fighter groups and first responders. Can’t argue with that.

Scant benefits to the public are without discussion or elaboration: we, the millions, “could stream video from an emergency incident, send photos of accident damage or a fleeing suspect, or send personal medical information, which could greatly aid emergency responders.”

Ooh, spot the benefit, we’d be able to send personal medical information. That must have the fintech entrepreneurs salivating.

“RTT is a text message that is transmitted instantly as it is being typed. RTT is used for conversational text.” That, whether you ever use it or not, would be part of the app package loaded onto your cell phone. Cameras would be on and watching, right?

BUT, it appears that RTT may not be supported by the carriers who provide cell service to this remote location. Not much help to us then?

My initial research has me suspecting that NG911 is part of the ever-tightening noose that will restrict our freedom from pervasive, invasive surveillance. Every single person will have to have the app on their cell phone, which means our data, our contacts, our texts, and who knows what else, will be hoovered out on a regular basis.

Does everyone know that data is being called the new oil? WE ARE THE DATA they want to exploit, monetize and scrutinize. Data is worth trillions, and it’s a huge topic.

If the repercussions of data harvesting aren’t disturbing, how about this? Getting in on the ground floor of NG911 is a group called the Coalition of the Willing (CW). Most of us have heard this phrase in connection with modern warfare. Among the Coalition of the Willing is the mysterious Windermere Group, located in the Bahamas, notorious home of offshore tax havens where the world’s greedy sociopaths hide their ill gotten gains. Why would they be part of the NG911?

From what I could find, the CRTC commission on NG911 identified “privacy issues” as a concern only once. And it was the last item under the heading of “List of Concerns” with zero discussion and zero mention anywhere else in the documents I read. Translation: our privacy is a very low priority, and/or they assume nobody is paying attention, and/or nobody will ever understand what they’re up to.

Which is probably just how they want it. “NG9-1-1 networks should be accessible to all types of entities, to the maximum extent possible, provided that they abide by the conditions established to govern access.”  Govern access means the terrain is wide open for monetization, business opportunity, intrusive biometrics, constant surveillance, and who knows what else.

More: “The entities allowed to interconnect should be providing useful and valuable emergency information..” Who are the “entities allowed to interconnect”? Note the “should be” which is vastly different than “has to be”. Is it just me or does the wording sound sketchy and purposefully loose, meaning it will be open to endless interpretation by dirty lawyers?  

Last but not least about updating 911 technology: “These updates will not affect current access to 9-1-1. If you need emergency help, you will still be able to dial 9-1-1 as you do today.”

Then why bother getting it?

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Here’s what KICLEI advises when it comes to “free money”:

Why Councillors Must Be on Guard

Municipal decision-makers must recognize the financial implications of “free” programs that later require substantial investment. Here’s how councillors can protect their communities from falling into these marketing traps:

1. Demand a Full Cost Breakdown Upfront: If a program is “free,” councillors should ask what long-term costs are involved and insist on seeing cost analyses before agreeing to participation. How much have these projects cost municipalities over the last 30 years?
2. Be Skeptical of Programs That Require Data Collection: If an initiative asks for extensive data before revealing costs, it is likely a long-term commitment disguised as a trial.
3. Consider the Exit Strategy Before Signing On: Councillors should assess how easy it will be to withdraw if the costs become unmanageable and develop an opt-out plan.
4. Prioritize Local Adaptation Over Global Mitigation: Instead of investing in top-down, international net zero frameworks, municipalities should focus on local climate adaptation strategies that bring direct benefits to their communities—such as flood prevention, infrastructure resilience, and regenerative agriculture.

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