ATLANTA -- Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the Gulf Coast spurred unusual collaboration among competing communications firms, and sometimes put the FCC in odd roles, such as helping to guard a broadcast station’s fuel deliveries, companies said at the FCC open meeting here Thurs. Convening at BellSouth’s emergency operating center, nearly a dozen industry executives described how broadcasters shared facilities to stay on the air and telecom companies cooperated to restore facilities as they shared emergency generators and other assets.
Govts. are lagging at upgrading infrastructure needed to support onboard emergency calling systems in vehicles, the European Commission (EC) said Wed. In Feb., the EC and auto makers agreed to introduce eCall. Starting in 2009, eCall will dial 112, the pan-European emergency number, automatically or manually, providing vehicle location and cutting response time. But unless member states spend as needed on infrastructure, rollout will be delayed, said the EC, which approved a new communication urging national and regional govts. to get moving.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and other big-box retailers have become key players in responding to natural disasters. According to the WSJ, Wal-Mart frequently beat the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by days in getting trucks filled with emergency supplies to relief workers and citizens affected by the storm. The WSJ states that whereas FEMA has to scramble for resources, Wal-Mart has its own trucks, distribution centers, and dozens of stores in most areas of the country affected. (WSJ Pub 09/12/05, www.wallstreetjournal.com)
A bill to establish a National Emergency Family Locator System was introduced last week by Sen. Obama (D- Ill.) in wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. S-1630 instructs the Homeland Security Dept. (DHS) to enable individuals displaced by an emergency to provide to the agency names and locations of displaced individuals and other relevant data using telephone, the Internet and other means. The system would incorporate intermediary- based locator systems such as the National Next of Kin Registry and data from existing family locator databases like the Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The bill awaits action from the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
The wireless industry is pushing a voluntary cellphone reuse and recycling program, even as CE makers get pressure from Capitol Hill to agree on how to finance a national e-waste recycling system. At a hearing last week, House Environment & Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chmn. Gilmor (R-O) indicated Congress will pick an e-waste recycling approach if CE makers don’t achieve consensus. Wondering why participants in the EPA-sponsored National Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) dialog couldn’t come to terms, Gilmor asked the industry if it can reach agreement.
In a Fri. letter to FCC Chmn. Martin, who recently visited Katrina-affected areas, Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) said it’s developing an ATC system to ensure seamless emergency hybrid satellite/terrestrial communication (CD Sept 9 p4), an MSV official told us. Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV), which has deployed over 1,300 satellite terminals in the Gulf Coast area, is donating air time to relief agencies, the official said. “We're working with other telecom companies to provide onsite communication to displaced citizens, and we're reaching out to federal, state and local relief organizations, offering handsets at cost,” the official said, reporting a call volume of 4 times normal levels.
As most public broadcasting stations in the Katrina- hit Gulf region limp back to normalcy, one deficiency is standing out: Generators expected to run for days on end need bigger fuel tanks. Ala. Public TV network (APT), which operates 9 stations, didn’t bother to switch on generators after power failed since “they last only a few hours,” a spokesman said. In La. Public Bcstg. (LPB) Network hq in Baton Rouge, a fuel spill meant a hazmat team had to be summoned. “It’s not designed to run that long,” LPG Pres. Beth Courtney told us.
The wireless industry is pushing a voluntary cellphone reuse and recycling program, even as CE makers get pressure from Capitol Hill to agree on how to finance a national e-waste recycling system. At a hearing last week, House Environment & Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chmn. Gilmor (R-O) indicated Congress will pick an e-waste recycling approach if CE makers don’t achieve consensus. Wondering why participants in the EPA-sponsored National Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) dialog couldn’t come to terms, Gilmor asked the industry if it can reach agreement.
A storm of protest greeted a European Commission (EC) move to regulate online audiovisual (AV) services. The plan would apply the 1989 TV without Frontiers (TVWF) directive to Internet TV programming and “non-linear"(on- demand) services (WID July 13 p6). But in comments submitted in advance of a major AV conference to occur later this month, telcos, ISPs and media groups panned the idea, saying it’s overkill and would hamper efforts to boost Europe’s economy.
A week after Hurricane Katrina, tales of satellites’ role are mounting. It won’t be long before regulators and Congress are further assessing the sector’s place in emergency communications, industry officials said. One thing is clear: the satellite industry never has been so busy in the Gulf of Mexico. Satellite phones and fly-away VSAT earth stations are playing a greater role than usual in relief work because of Katrina’s wide path and subsequent floods, officials said. Demand for satellite capacity is high enough that Defense Dept. officials said this week they're making military satellite bandwidth available for civilian communication purposes in Miss.