Exactly five years to the day before the September 11, 2001 attacks, the FCC issued a report warning that a lack of interoperability among public safety emergency communications systems was preventing emergency personnel from protecting life and property. "Rescuing victims of the [1993] World Trade Center bombing, who were caught between floors, was hindered when police officers could not communicate with firefighters on the very next floor," the report stated.  Sadly, it was precisely such interoperability problems that would prevent over 100 New York City firefighters from receiving an evacuation order on September 11^th before the towers collapsed. Until an improved public safety communications system is actually implemented, tragic outcomes will continue to haunt first responders to public emergencies.

The Crisis in Public Safety Communications brought together prominent scholars, policymakers, and industry officials to discuss solutions to this deadly serious problem. Major telecommunications scholars presented groundbreaking research on what causes the lack of effective communication between local public safety personnel, and how U.S. spectrum policies have failed to remedy this Balkanization problem.  This research was then discussed by two panels of industry executives, public safety officials, and policymakers with deep knowledge of the problems confronting us.

This Conference was co-sponsored by the Information Economy Project and the Mercatus Center.

Video Files:

 

Opening address by Nancy Victory

Panel I - Perspectives from the Academic Community

Panel II - Perspectives from the Business Community

Panel III - Perspectives from the Policymaking Community

Luncheon address by Charles Werner

 

Publications:

Presentations:

 

Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks - Nancy J. Victory
Solving the Interoperability Problem - Gerald R. Faulhaber

Communicating After Disasters - Philip J. Weiser

Achieving Interoperability - Charles Werner

 

Schedule of events:

8:00 - 8:30 am:  Opening address by NANCY VICTORY, Chair of FCC Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks, and formerly Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

8:30 - 10:00 am: Panel I - Perspectives from the Academic Community

Moderated by PROF. THOMAS W. HAZLETT, Professor of Law and Economics, George Mason University School of Law

* GERALD FAULHABER, Wharton School

* JON PEHA, Carnegie Mellon University

* PHIL WEISER, University of Pennsylvania Law School

* JERRY BRITO, Mercatus Center at George Mason University

10:00 - 10:10 am: Break

10:10 - 11:10 am: Panel II - Perspectives from the Business Community

* MORGAN O'BRIEN, Chairman, Cyren Call Communications

* CHRIS GUTTMAN-MCCABE, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA-The Wireless Association

11:10 - 11:15 am: Break

11:15 - 12:15 pm: Panel III - Perspectives from the Policymaking Community

* DAVID FURTH, Associate Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, FCC

* CHARLES WERNER, Fire Chief with the City of Charlottesville, VA

* ADELE MORRIS, Economist, US Department of Treasury

12:15 - 1:30 pm: Luncheon, with an address by CHARLES WERNER, Fire Chief with the City of Charlottesville, VA, Fire Department; Past Chair and present member of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee.

1:30 pm: Conference Ends