Frustrated at progress in solving national emergency communications problems, Reps. Harman (D-Cal.) and Pickering (R.-Miss.) urged the FCC in a Thurs. letter to adopt rules for the 700 MHz band in line with Frontline Wireless’s proposal. Four years after 9/11 and after billions in spending, Hurricane Katrina showed that communications failures still can cripple public safety efforts, slowing responses and costing lives, the letter said. The U.S. has little to show for the $2 billion spent since 9/11, and the $1 billion being spent this year “is unlikely to result in real, nationwide improvements necessary to avert another catastrophe,” it said. The FCC 700 MHz band proposal is one of the “last opportunities to create a single, national system to help public safety agencies achieve seamless operability and interoperability,” the lawmakers said: “Allowing a commercial wireless provider to build a nationwide network for public safety use can produce a realistic and affordable solution.”
Iridium wants customers to test their phones at no charge during National Hurricane Preparedness Week, starting May 21. During Hurricane Katrina, satellite phones were first responders’ only means of communicating after terrestrial infrastructure failed, said emergency preparedness consultant Kim Fuller, formerly with FEMA. Iridium has set up a number for the testing: 00-1-480-752- 5105.
Wash. Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) signed a bill prohibiting text messaging while driving (HB-1214). The state is the first in the nation to ban types of mobile communications besides phoning while operating motor vehicles. Gregoire said text messaging while driving is just as distracting as reading a book or newspaper behind the wheel. The bill exempts drivers of authorized emergency vehicles and drivers using text messaging to report an emergency. Also exempt are voice-activated in-car navigation systems, and drivers such as tow truck operators whose jobs require use of messaging devices while on the road. Violators are subject to $100 fines. The offense is a secondary infraction: A ticket can be issued only if the driver has been stopped for another motor vehicle violation.
House Homeland Security Committee Chmn. Thompson (D- Miss.) had a firm message Tues. for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Undersecy. David Paulison: Finish a plan coordinating local, state and federal emergency response efforts and end bureaucratic turf skirmishes. Paulison irked Thompson when he said the plan, due June 1, won’t be ready until close to July 1. Ranking Member King (R-N.Y.) pressed Paulison about a current International Trade Commission case that could affect first responders’ access to cellphones.
The President has issued a memorandum to the Secretary of State which, among other things, determines and certifies that U.S. government-funded transfers and commercial exports of certain defense articles and services necessary for the Southern Sudan Security Sector Reform Program are essential to the national security interests of the U.S. (Presidential Determination No. 2007-17, FR Pub 05/09/07, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-2319.pdf)
EC proposals for telecom regulatory reform may not emerge until Oct., we're told. The EC has maintained -- and Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding’s spokesman repeated Thurs. -- that proposals arising from its extensive review of the 2003 e-communications regulatory framework (NRF) will be out this summer. But experts suggested the timetable has slipped due to debate on contentious issues such as EU-level regulatory coordination, including creation of an “EU FCC,” an idea backed Thurs. by the incoming Portuguese Presidency.
EC proposals for telecom regulatory reform may not emerge until Oct., we're told. The EC has maintained -- and Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding’s spokesman repeated Thurs. -- that proposals arising from its extensive review of the 2003 e-communications regulatory framework (NRF) will be out this summer. But experts suggested the timetable has slipped due to debate on contentious issues such as EU-level regulatory coordination, including creation of an “EU FCC,” an idea backed Thurs. by the incoming Portuguese Presidency.
Congressmen and witnesses slammed DHS’s law enforcement information sharing network as ineffective, costly and redundant at a House Intelligence Subcommittee hearing Thurs. The Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN), a secure Web-based portal that the agency uses to share counter- terrorism intelligence with local and state police. But HSIN doesn’t work as promised, Chmn. Harmon (D-Cal.) said: “What we have instead is kind of a mess.” Rather than capitalize on existing state and local networks, DHS seems to have created a new network, to defend the agency’s turf, she said: Many at DHS “do not know what state and local needs are.” HSIN landed on the OMB’s watch list and high risk list of poorly executed projects that require executive attention, Harmon said: “It’s totally unacceptable.”
DirecTV won’t meet a June 8 deadline to be carrying all free-over-the-air broadcast signals, including multicast and high definition (HD), for stations serving Alaska and Hawaii, it told the FCC last week. DirecTV’s satellite constellation can’t handle the mandate, the company said. “The satellite capacity required to serve just these two states will increase by 389%,” DirecTV Senior Vp Susan Eid wrote in a May 2 letter made available Mon. DirecTV carries all local stations in Alaska and Hawaii in standard definition digital, she said. The Satellite Home Viewer Extension & Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) “does not expressly require either high definition or multicast carriage in Alaska and Hawaii,” she added.
The National Emergency Number Assn. and the Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials will cooperate on next generation 911 (NG911) planning and deployment, they said Wed. The agreement covers how they will share information and their areas of overlap and expertise. Each will have a committee -- NENA’s Next Generation Transition Planning Committee and APCO’s Project 41 Committee -- with each body’s leadership also serving on the other panel. The arrangement is a “major step forward… on the critical issue of NG911,” said NENA Pres. Jason Barbour. “The results will be a firm foundation for the advancement of 911 and public safety,” APCO Pres. Wanda McCarley said.