10 years after 9/11 terror attacks, emergency workers still struggling to talk via radios
By Associated Press, Published: August 31
WASHINGTON — Amid the chaos of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, emergency responders found they could not communicate with each other. That problem persists 10 years later, according to a review of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
A National Preparedness Group report released Wednesday concludes that the recommendation that a nationwide broadband network for emergency responders be created “continues to languish.”
“Despite the lives at stake, the recommendation to improve radio interoperability for first responders has stalled because of a political fight over whether to allocate 10 MHz of radio spectrum ... directly to public safety for a nationwide network, or auction it off to a commercial wireless bidder who would then be required to provide priority access on its network dedicated to public safety during emergencies,” says the report, whose authors include 9/11 Commission chairmen Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean.
Law enforcement and emergency responders around the country have long supported the creation of the communication network. In January, President Barack Obama announced his support for allocating the radio space, known as the D-block spectrum, to police and other emergency workers.
Bills that would set aside the D-block and create a communications network have been introduced in both the House and the Senate this year but so far have not been passed in either chamber.
Several big wireless carriers have supported auctioning off the airwaves to the wireless industry, a move that the government has estimated would raise about $3.1 billion. That could help pay to build a public safety communications network.
The Federal Communications Commission has tried to auction off the D Block before. But that 2008 auction required that the winning bidder help build a network to be shared by first responders and give them priority in an emergency. It did not attract any serious bidders.
The National Preparedness Group report said statewide communications interoperability plans and the creation of a national emergency communications plan have improved emergency coordination across different jurisdictions. But more work needs to be done and the ultimate solution, the report said, is to follow the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation and create a nationwide communications network.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Maybe they should fix the radio system we already have first.
ReplyDeleteI love the dispatchers for the most part. They do a damn great job of looking over us. But whoever was dispatching Zone 9 on 08 Sep 11 about 1415 hrs, please for everybodt's safety, whn you knew the offender was last seen at 106th and Peoria, why did you send the assist cars to 116th and Peoria. We ar sore, but luckily we finally got the idiot cuffed. Look at the history on the call for now on. The offender was hiding in a backyard at 108th and Peoria. Sore but thankfully alive. Because of your error things could have been much worse. It's bad the closest car flew by us going to 116th 5 minutes earlier and it took over 5 to 8 mintes after that before help arrived. No oofense but we depend on the dispatchers, Next time look at the history and if you are not sure of the exact location, send cars to both.
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