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Broadband Urged for First Responders
Friday, June 30, 2006
Reports from the Wireless Communications Association International's annual conference here in Washington, DC, are that public safety officials and industry representatives are urging the FCC to "rechannelize" public safety frequencies in the 700 MHz band. Doing so could mean the 700 MHz band- where many public safety radio communications systems currently operate, and which has characteristics ideal for public safety use- could be adjusted to accommodate new broadband applications for first responders and facilitate interoperable communications for public safety. In general, the 700 MHz band is well-suited for use by emergency responders because of its propagation characteristics. Radio signals originating in the 700 MHz band are strong enough to penetrate barriers such as the walls of buildings - a critically important attribute for first responders given the environments they work in. A broadband network in the 700 MHz band could prove to be truly invaluable for emergency response. In a December 2005 report to Congress (posted here on the FRC website), the FCC said it envisions a national broadband network capable of providing rapid-warning messages, real-time text-messaging and e-mail personnel status location, high-resolution digital images and "smart radios" that are capable of operating on multiple frequencies and multiple formats.
According to MRT Magazine, "Real-time video transmissions can provide valuable information about an incident, and emergency medical units can use the network to get preliminary assessments from remote doctors while on the scene and en route to a hospital." The article further details how a demonstration of broadband services "included a remote expert helping a bomb squad diffuse a fake explosive device while watching a video monitor depicting the action."
FRC Calls on the President to "Fix the Radios"
Monday, June 19, 2006
Nearly five years after 120 firefighters lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers because they were unable to receive the evacuation order issued over police radios, first responders throughout the country are still not able to effectively communicate with each other. Hurricane Katrina was a tragic reminder that serious flaws still exist in our nation's emergency communications systems. The absence of a national interoperability strategy has resulted in disjointed efforts to fix the problem at all levels of government, putting our communities and those who protect them at risk. In response to the lack of progress being made towards "fixing the radios," the FRC called upon the President today to commit to a "target date" to achieve national emergency communications interoperability within the next decade. The President should commit to this "target date" before August 29, 2006 - the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. All materials relating to the FRC's call for an emergency communications interoperability target date are available here, including an accompanying issue brief outlining the need to establish a "target date" for national interoperability, and recommendations for moving forward.
Homeland Insecurity
Friday, June 16, 2006
It really is frustrating. Most every time I blog it seems there's a new government report being released on how unprepared the nation is for another disaster. Oh, how I long to make a blog entry that starts with "DHS Confident Nation Is Prepared!" Unfortunately, today is not that day. In yet another report on the failed response to Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found that most American cities and states remain unprepared for catastrophes, and called the shortcomings in emergency planning a cause for "significant national concern."According to the AP, the report, delivered to Congress Thursday night but not released to the public, indicates that local response plans for major disasters are often antiquated and uncoordinated, and concludes on the following note: We rely to a troubling extent on plans that are created in isolation, are insufficiently detailed and are not subject to adequate review. Time and again, these factors extract a severe penalty in the midst of a crisis: precious time is consumed in the race to correct the misperceptions of federal, state and local responders about roles, responsibilities and actions. The result is uneven performance and repeated and costly operational miscues.
If there is a silver lining, it may be this: according to the AP, the DHS found that 18 hurricane-prone states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts appeared to be better prepared for disasters than the rest of the country, and were judged by peers to have emergency plans "that were more likely to be rated sufficient... than other states." At first blush that sounds encouraging. However, in the FRC's most recent report we found that, when it comes to the ability of emergency personnel to talk to one another, in many states throughout the hurricane-prone southeast emergency communications are largely inadequate. That begs the question, "If DHS thinks the southeast is prepared, then just how unprepared is the rest of the nation?"
State Officials Doubt Nation Is Ready For '06 Hurricanes
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The 2006 hurricane season is officially upon us, and as I write this Tropical Storm Alberto is spinning towards the West Coast of Florida. It is anticipated that the storm will drench major portions of the State with heavy, flood-producing rains and potentially spawn damaging tornadoes. Thankfully, we learned our lesson last year with Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita... right? Not according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. According to a recent article in Federal Computer Week: On the first day of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, the ability of government at the federal, state and local levels to deal with major disasters is no better than it was when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region last year.
That is the overwhelming consensus of government and private-sector technology experts who convened in Washington, D.C., this week for a conference sponsored by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
The session's panelists said efforts to create systems that allow seamless communications among emergency organizations and employees are more likely to be thwarted by poor interagency cooperation, such as the inability to agree on common standards and operating procedures, than by technological limitations.
In our April 2006 report, The Imminent Storm 2006, we came to a similar conclusion, noting that technology is but one component of communications interoperability. The FRC recommended that " The Federal government should coordinate with state and local agencies to implement regional emergency communications interoperability," and that to achieve this " there must be both coordination and cooperation between agencies and at various levels." An important first step all parties at the state and local level can, and should, take is to set aside their political differences and agree to put public safety first. Or, put simply, "lose the egos." Lives depend upon it. This will enable the Federal government to not only take a leadership position, where appropriate, but develop a collaborative relationship with state and local officials to help them develop regional solutions to the emergency communications crisis.
9/11 Commissioners: First Responders Need More Spectrum
Friday, June 09, 2006
Nearly five years after the tragic events of September 11, our nation's leaders continue to fail first responders and the communities they protect.
At a House hearing this week examining the progress that has been made towards satisfying the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, 9/11 Commission co-chairs Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton testified that they would not change ANY of the abysmal grades issued by the Commission to the Federal government. With regards to emergency communications, for which the 9/11 Commissioners last year gave the Federal government a failing grade, the Commissioners called the lack of spectrum available for public safety " scandalous," and provided the following testimony: First responders still do not have the ability to communicate with each other effectively. The Commission recommended that Congress expedite for public safety purposes the allocation of a slice of the broadcast spectrum ideal for emergency communications.
Those frequencies - able to get messages through concrete and steel high-rises without difficulty - are now held by TV broadcasters. They have been promised for public safety purposes for a decade, and will finally be turned over to first responders in February, 2009.
HR 5017 includes the text of the Homeland Emergency Response Act (the HERO Act) to provide this broadcast spectrum to first responders much earlier, by January 1, 2007. We strongly endorse this earlier date.
The reason for an early date is simple: Who can say that no disaster will strike before 2009? Why should public safety have to be put on hold for the next three years in order to accommodate the broadcast industry? It is scandalous, and we call on the Congress to act.
FRC to Present at Hurricane Preparedness Event
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
The FRC has been invited to speak at the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation's upcoming symposium, "Hurricane Season 2006: Are We Ready?" The event will take place at 1PM on Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The NCBCP has also invited senior representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Louisiana Recovery Authority, National Black Nurses Association, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, civil rights organizations, NCBCP state affiliates from Louisiana and Alabama and others to discuss lessons learned from the devastating 2005 hurricane season in preparation for a more coordinated and integrated response to future community disasters. Click here for an event flyer.
Report on London Bombings Has Parallels to 9/11 Commission Report
Monday, June 05, 2006
I found this too interesting not to post:
CNET News reports that the emergency response to the July 7, 2005 London bombings was hampered by communications breakdowns.
The recently-released report by the "July 7 Review Committee" indicates that rescue teams were unable to communicate properly between the sites of the explosions underground and with colleagues at ground level.
Communications failures had a direct impact on rescue efforts, with requests for further ambulances, supplies and equipment by London Ambulance Service personnel at the scenes of incidents failing to get through to the main control room. They were also unable to receive instructions as to which hospitals were still receiving patients.
Many emergency managers were forced to rely on already-overloaded mobile phone networks to communicate in the aftermath of the explosions. To this day, emergency workers in London are still not able to communicate by radio when they are underground.
As CNET points out, "The report underscores the notion that there is no point in having the technology to enable key people to communicate with each other if the relevant authorities do not make sure that the right people are in possession of that technology." Click here to read the entire report.
NYC Communications Still Lacking 5 Years after 9/11
Friday, June 02, 2006
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting today that "radio repeaters" are rare in NYC skyscrapers. As a result, emergency communications in NYC still suffer from significant shortcomings, putting the lives of rescuer and citizen at increased risk.
During emergencies, rescue workers are often required to use their hand-held, or "portable," radios in places where signals often have a tough time penetrating, including in stairwells, basements, tunnels and elevators. A radio repeater is a system that receives a weak or low-level signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. In NYC, repeaters are placed on tall towers to maximize their area of coverage. With these systems, users with low-powered radios (such as the portable radios carried by first responders) can better communicate with each other. Without repeaters, first responders face significant challenges. As the AP notes, "Equipment shortcomings made for chaos during the evacuation of the trade center complex. Commanders on the ground struggled to contact firefighters on upper floors. Firefighters in the north tower were unaware the south tower had collapsed. Many apparently never received an order to evacuate." The good news is that the Durst Organization, a privately-owned real estate firm, has committed to pay for upgrades to radio repeaters on eight NYC buildings by the end of 2006, and a ninth by 2008. The first building to receive the upgrade is a 48-story skyscraper in Times Square, and will cost approximately $300,000. The FRC applauds the Durst Organization for making this commitment to public safety. Enduring terrorist threats and predictions that the northeast is ripe for a major hurricane remind us that first responders need reliable communications to do their jobs safely and effectively.
June 1, 2006: Hurricane Season Begins
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Today marks the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season. Forecasters are predicting an above-normal season with 13-16 named storms and 8-10 hurricanes. Between 4 and 6 of those hurricanes are predicted to be "major" storms. Forecasters also indicate that not only should the Southeast expect another active hurricane season, the Northeast is ripe for a hurricane, too. Are you ready? The National Hurricane Center provides the following items you should consider to prepare yourself for the 2006 hurricane season:
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