89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Navajo Nation To Improve 911 Service

Tuzen via Flickr
/
Creative Commons License

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly has signed an executive order aimed at improving 911 service and emergency communications across the reservation.

The order calls for collaboration between various tribal departments and private communication providers.

Shelly says no one should have to worry about their call going unanswered.

Tribal officials say the need to improve the existing communications system is evident. According to tribal statistics, 60 percent of homes on the Navajo Nation lack telephone lines and just over half of the reservation has wireless coverage.

Officials say the biggest stumbling block has been the lack of public safety answering points. The tribal public safety division is looking at establishing more points and extending services to the Hopi Tribe, Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico and the White Mesa Paiute in Utah.