Lauren Frayer

The federal government is making medical information on Hurricane Katrina evacuees available online to doctors, the first time private records from various pharmacies and other health care providers have been compiled into centralized databases. Electronic health records are controversial among many privacy advocates, who fear the data could be exploited by hackers, companies or the government.

Technology professionals proficient in wireless Internet access have established high-speed connections in at least 15 relief centers in northern Louisiana -- prompting many to argue for stronger policy incentives to create community and municipal broadband networks. Wireless Internet connections are proving to be a significant means of communication in and out of the disaster area, and some people are using the occasion to argue that more spectrum should be allocated for unlicensed devices, such as those using the Wi-Fi standard. Others note that disaster relief and homeland security become important additional reasons to establish municipal broadband networks. "There has been a lot of publicity on the Philadelphia" municipal broadband network but "less on Oklahoma City and Corpus Christi, Texas, which were primarily designed for public safety," said Reed Hundt, a former FCC chairman and now an advocate and board member of several wireless companies. "Oklahoma City had its own experience with tragedy, and Corpus Christi, which is certainly not unaware of hurricanes, wanted networks that would help with first responders," Hundt added. Both cities have established Wi-Fi networks as a way for police and firefighters to communicate in emergencies.

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) took aim at broadcasters from the Senate floor Tuesday over the issue of Katrina Communications failures, saying they should be forced to give their analog spectrum back by the end of next year. "Let’s remember that Congress provided additional spectrum for first responders in the Telecommunications Act of 1996," said McCain. "So, after spending millions of dollars in funding and additional spectrum for our nation’s first responders why aren't we better off than we were on 9/11 when it comes to interoperable communications? Because the spectrum Congress provided to first responders in 1996 is being held hostage by television broadcasters even though broadcasters have been given new spectrum." Former Commerce Committee Chairman McCain argued for action on the SAVE Lives Act, a bill he introduced with Senator Joe Lieberman that would return analog spectrum by Jan. 1, 2009, But he said that given the hurricane problems, he wanted to amend that to Jan. 1, 2007.

Sens. Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Biden (D-Del.) Tuesday introduced amendments to the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill that would add money for emergency communications equipment. Sen Stabenow's amendment called for $15 billion to go to the Homeland Security Dept. over 3 years to buy equipment that fire, police and rescue units could use to talk to one another in crises. Biden's amendment, which failed 56-41, included $300 million for local agencies for interoperable communications to be handled through the Justice Dept. Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. At CommDaily's deadline, the Stabenow amendment was on the floor awaiting a vote. Sen Stabenow cited a U.S. Conference of Mayors 2004 survey showing 94% of cities lack interoperability among rail facilities, police, fire and emergency medical service. "There is no excuse for that," Stabenow said at a news conference introducing her amendment: "The government's response to Katrina shows how little has been learned." She said only $280 million has been spent on equipment despite a Congressional Budget Office estimate that nearly $15 billion is needed to assure safety.
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The Association for Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) is urging Congress to make first responder communications a priority during the last months of this session. “The Katrina disaster demonstrates once again the critical need for robust, interoperable radio communications for public safety personnel,” the organization wrote in a letter to Members. APCO urged Congress to pass legislation this year that would: (1) Set a hard date to clear TV stations from 700 MHz band radio spectrum already allocated for public safety. (2) Boost federal grants supporting interoperable communications planning, staffing and equipment. (3) “Improve the way funds are allocated to local governments to be used for upgrading or purchasing interoperable communications systems.” (4) “Provide federal grants to PSAPs to upgrade their 911 systems.” (public safety answering point, a physical location where 911 emergency telephone calls are received and then routed to the proper emergency services) (5) “Consider the need for additional spectrum for broadband public safety communications applications.”
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Four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the federal government has failed to enact crucial homeland security reforms that could have saved lives and improved the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, according to a report to be issued today by former members of the Sept. 11 commission. Local emergency officials are still unable to reliably communicate with one another during disasters, the federal government has no clear system of command and control for responding to a crisis. Thomas H.

After surviving Hurricane Katrina's initial blow, the radio communications system for the New Orleans police and fire departments dissolved as its radio towers lost their backup power generators in the ensuing flood. Some of the equipment could have been brought back up quickly, except that technicians were blocked from entering the submerged city for three days by state troopers who were themselves struggling with an overwhelmed radio system from a different manufacturer. Four years after the 2001 terror attacks exposed the need for more robust, interconnected communications during such calamities, with nearly a billion dollars appropriated by Congress for the task last year, the United States still lacks uniform systems that can keep all emergency responders in touch. Since 2001, the federal government has given $8.6 billion to states for equipment, first responder training and disaster exercises. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security gave the states $2.1 billion, of which $925 million was spent on or earmarked for communications equipment upgrades. The department, however, does not tell states what to buy, though it stresses that any system deployed in the field should be able talk to another agency's system, known as "interoperability" in industry parlance.

[Commentary] Katrina overwhelmed the nation's complex communications system, raising serious questions about whether federal and local governments need new powers to organize a rapid response by the wireless, wire, cable, satellite, and broadcast industries. Moreover, it seems clear that first responders ought to have a resilient, mobile wireless data network that they can share. Fixing this is not difficult. There are some concrete steps the United States can and should take. The important thing to understand is that we know how to do this. The pieces to put together a national emergency response system are well understood. They include WiFi networks, dedicated spectrum for emergency responders, and standard off-the-shelf technology that enables emergency responders to receive pages, talk to each other, do simple text messaging, transmit photographs, and retrieve maps. The basic task is straightforward: every single emergency responder in the United States should be equipped with a simple Emergency Transponder (ET) that can receive pages and allow at least voice and text communications with other workers. We think such a device could be built for as little as $150. It would be a trivial task for the government to offer a rebate on the 3.2 million needed devices.

Amid ever more shocking images and mounting casualties, big media corporations on Wednesday announced millions of dollars in aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina, which has transformed the historic and heavily populated city of New Orleans into a virtual underwater hell and decimated areas of Mississippi and Alabama.
Walt Disney unveiled corporate contributions of $2.5 million: a $1 million donation to the American Red Cross for immediate relief efforts; $1 million for rebuilding efforts targeted at children's charities; and $500,000 for volunteer centers. Viacom is planning a $1 million cash donation to the American Red Cross and a worldwide employee matching gift program directed to the agency. Its divisions CBS, BET, UPN, MTV Networks, Infinity Radio and outdoor will develop special programming and offer ad space and airtime for public service announcements from the Red Cross and other agencies.
Local TV and radio stations will do the same in their communities. Time Warner, the world's biggest media company, said it will start by matching
$1 million in employee contributions made to the American Red Cross.