Alva Review-Courier -

Until the late 1960s, there was no universal emergency phone number for people to quickly call their local police, fire departments or ambulance service. In 1967, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended a single, universal number for reporting an emergency. Within a few years, 911 was being adopted throughout the country.

But decades later, we’re in desperate need of an upgrade. The current 911 system is analog technology of the 20th century, but we’re now more than two decades into the 21st century. 911 service is an even greater challenge in ru...