Haiti—Too Early To Be a Lesson?

Just six days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and while victims were still being pulled from beneath collapsed buildings, the chief of the FCCs Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau used the incident to push for funding a nationwide, public safety broadband network. Jamie Barnett wrote an opinion piece posted on The Hill Web site, noting that eight years after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, “We still lack nationwide reliable, interoperable communications for America’s first responders.” Barnett called this situation “unthinkable,” and claimed that a broadband network is the “best prospect” to provide the needed interoperability. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to form public-private partnerships in order to leverage commercial technology and resources,” Barnett wrote. “However, to take advantage of this opportunity, funding is required to ensure that public safety has the coverage, redundancy and resiliency it requires.” Read Barnett’s piece here.