Media Contact:
Carrie Conko
Director of Communications
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4899
Email: cconko@gmu.edu
The Crisis in Public Safety Communications
| Start: | Friday, December 8, 2006 08:00 AM |
| End: | Friday, December 8, 2006 01:30 PM |
| Location: | Campus of George Mason University School of Law |
Exactly five years to the day before the September 11, 2001 attacks, the FCC issued a report warning that a lack of interoperability among public safety emergency communications systems was preventing emergency personnel from protecting life and property. "Rescuing victims of the [1993] World Trade Center bombing, who were caught between floors, was hindered when police officers could not communicate with firefighters on the very next floor," the report stated. Sadly, it was precisely such interoperability problems that would prevent over 100 New York City firefighters from receiving an evacuation order on September 11th before the towers collapsed. Until an improved public safety communications system is actually implemented, tragic outcomes will continue to haunt first responders to public emergencies.
The Crisis in Public Safety Communications brought together prominent scholars, policymakers, and industry officials to discuss solutions to this deadly serious problem. Major telecommunications scholars presented groundbreaking research on what causes the lack of effective communication between local public safety personnel, and how U.S. spectrum policies have failed to remedy this Balkanization problem. This research was then discussed by two panels of industry executives, public safety officials, and policymakers with deep knowledge of the problems confronting us.
Symposium Publications:
**These papers will be published in an upcoming symposium edition of the Federal Communications Law Journal. Please do not quote, cite, or distribute without the permission of the author.**
Solving the Interoperability Problem - Gerald R. Faulhaber
Fundamental Reform in Public Safety Communications Policy - Jon M. Peha
Communicating After Disasters - Philip J. Weiser
Sending Out an S.O.S. - Jerry Brito
PowerPoint Presentations:
Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks - Nancy J. Victory
Solving the Interoperability Problem - Gerald R. Faulhaber
Fundamental Reform in Public Safety Communications Policy - Jon M. Peha
Communicating After Disasters - Philip J. Weiser
Achieving Interoperability - Charles Werner
Agenda
Schedule of events:
8:00 - 8:30 am: Opening address: Nancy Victory, Chair of FCC Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks, and formerly Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Please Click Here to view the video of this presentation.
8:30 - 10:00 am: Panel I - Perspectives from the Academic Community
Please Click Here to view the video of this presentation.
| Moderator: | Dr. Tom Hazlett, Professor of Law and Economics, |
| George Mason School of Law |
- Gerald Faulhaber, Wharton School
- Jon Peha, Carnegie Mellon University
- Phil Weiser, University of Colorado
- Jerry Brito, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
10:00 - 10:10 am: Break
10:10 - 11:10 am: Debate - Perspectives from the Business Community
Please Click Here to view the video of this presentation.
- Morgan O’Brien, Chairman, Cyren Call Communications
- Chris Guttman-McCabe, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA-The Wireless Association
11:10 - 11:15 am: Break
11:15 - 12:30 pm: Panel III - Perspectives from the Policymaking Community
Please Click Here to view the video of this presentation.
- David Furth, Associate Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, FCC
- Charles Werner, Fire Chief with the City of Charlottesville, VA
- Adele Morris, Economist, US Department of Treasury
12:30 - 1:45 pm: Luncheon, with an address by Charles Werner, Fire Chief with the City of Charlottesville, VA, Fire Department; Past Chair and present member of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee.
Please Click Here to view the video of this presentation.
1:45 pm: Conference Concluded
The Crisis in Public Safety Communications was co-sponsored by the Mercatus Center and the Information Economy Project of the National Center for Technology and Law at George Mason University.
If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Chris Hixon at 703.993.4912 or chixon@gmu.edu.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is a research center focused on improving our understanding of how societies transition to prosperity and remain prosperous over time. The findings of that research are then communicated to decision makers in a position to act on them. Through the application of market process analysis, a uniquely George Mason approach, Mercatus researchers and the students they work with seek to bridge theory and practice to better understand how market-oriented systems enable human well being. The Mercatus Center is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
The Information Economy Project of the National Center for Technology and Law seeks to promote academic research and scholarly debate on public policy issues in the Information Economy. These involve, among other topics, how governments regulate communications networks, the role of antitrust in software, computer chips and online services, the effect of media content controls, and how intellectual property rules are challenged by the advent of innovative technologies.
