Risk management is extremely important in volatile times. Many organizations are working on scenario planning exercises to understand how to pivot in the coming months in hopes of preparing for the twists and turns that lie ahead.

One new risk that organizations are considering? Emergency communications services. Organizations that rely on emergency services and telecommunications providers want to understand the current risk profile, especially with all the change underway among DOGE actions. We have been fielding these questions from agencies, citizens, and other government-related organizations. This blog seeks to answer: Are emergency communications services dodging DOGE impact?

The answer? It depends on scope. Here’s what we believe are the direct impacts, the indirect ones, and the collateral-impact angles that one might explore when answering this question.

Directly Related Impact

The federal government doesn’t operate 911 call centers directly. Instead, these services are mostly run by state and local agencies through public safety answering points (PSAPs). There is no evidence of contract cancellations directly impacting the PSAPs for 911 emergency services. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the Department of Transportation experienced a 4% reduction in workforce but largely within its autonomous vehicle safety group. There were also reductions in NG911 implementation.

How city, municipality, and county budgets get adjusted here based on DOGE cuts to other line items are also unknown currently. We do see it as very unlikely that these services would be subject to reductions, especially given NG911 implementation changes at the federal level in 2022.

Expanding the scope with regards to services classified as non-emergency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was impacted by the federal cuts, as was the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, including the Veterans Crisis Line. Millions of Americans could be affected. For leaders understanding risk, this could impact one of your employees. Many argue that such services are also an emergency line for them.

Indirectly Related Impact

As part of broader efforts to improve spending efficiency, the new administration paused the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, later resumed it, and is now proposing reforms — causing further delays in funding and service rollout. This program is meant to bridge the unserved and underserved Americans who could eventually get access to over-the-top VoIP phone services with 911 emergency calling capabilities. In a recent twist, a BEAD reform could expand applicability beyond fiber services, looking into satellite communications for the purpose of speeding the service delivery, but this could have a devastating effect on businesses and their technical staff who are already invested in helping states and territories build fiber networks. That economic uncertainty within these groups may impact these services if they are relied on today.

Collateral Impact

Considering the overall budget cuts and the raising telecommunication costs for plain old telephone service (POTS) lines, agencies and departments have an uphill quest to assess, plan, and mitigate the risks of losing connectivity for critical systems such as elevators, emergency calling boxes, fire alarms, burglar alarms, access gates, medical alerts, and dispatch systems. The most recent FCC reform will allow providers without a standalone voice offering to provide POTS replacement alternatives. The transition to a new technology alternative presents a significant risk if the new voice service doesn’t match the POTS reliability standards and impacts a human life in case of an emergency.

If you are a risk leader, consider each of these layers as you scenario-plan. Do you concur with my view? I’d love to hear your feedback. Need more guidance? Engage with me via an inquiry call by emailing inquiry@forrester.com.