Comedian John Oliver Slams 'Underfunded' 911

Comedian John Oliver featured the lack of funding for 911 on an episode of HBO's Last Week Tonight that aired Sunday. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel cited the episode at the APCO Summit in a keynote Monday about how to upgrade 911 (see 1605160052). “We have a lot of faith in 911, but the system can break down more than you think,” Oliver said in the clip, which can can be viewed free on YouTube. “Depending on where you live, [911 centers] may also be underfunded, understaffed and full of outdated technology, which is fine if you’re describing a RadioShack, but it’s a little scary when you’re describing a place that handles life-and-death situations.” Also, Oliver called unacceptable an FCC mandate that wireless carriers must be able to provide a usable location for 80 percent of people calling 911 by 2021. “That’s not good enough,” he said. “The sentence, ‘In six years, I might not be able to find one out of five of you,’ is only acceptable if you’re speaking to the members of One Direction.”