Cybertelecom Federal Internet Law & Policy An Educational Project

Emergency Communications

Emergency communications involves multiple phases, individuals, and purposes. They include emergency alerts, requests for assistance (911 & PSAPs), and coordination among responders. Emergency communications involves priority service, reliability, service restoration, and information collection, aggregation, and dissemination.

Examples of major emergency communications events have included Katrina and 9/11.

Related issues include network reliability and assessment of the network's status.

Preparation

Event Detection

• Use of Internet for remote sensing / observation

Contingency Planning

• Data backup

Notice of Emergency Event

• EAS
• NCS National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee NSTAC
• Common Alert Protocol

During Event

Notice / First Hand Accounts

• blogs, video, twitter , mashups
• Kevin Poulsen, Firsthand Reports From California Wildfires Pour Through Twitter WIRED (Oct 23, 2007)
• Mitch Wagner, Google Maps and Twitter are Essential Information Resources for California Fires, Information Week Oct 24, 2007

First Responder Communications

• Roaming Messenger - messages to first responder devices to coordinate response

Recovery

• Logistics and Response Recovery Coordination
• Mashup Maps - Google Maps
• Telemedicine
• Donation and Resource Coordination
• Fundraising
• Missing Persons / Find Me / I am Alive Services
• DOJ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Katrina Missing Persons
• KC Jones, Internet Plays Major Role In Virginia Tech Shooting Aftermath , Information Week (Apr 23, 2007) (" 236 groups related to Virginia Tech were set up in Facebook, according to Reuters, including the "I'm OK at VT" group ")
• Emotional Recovery / Community

Communications Restoration

• VoIP in replace of PSTN
• UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET)
• ReliefWeb: Emergency Communications
• Télécom Sans Frontières
• Net Hope
• ARRL
• PART-15.ORG Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Interoperability

• COPS Interoperable Communications Technology Program
• The Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program assists state, local and federal first responders better communicate during a natural or man-made disaster. NTIA, in consultation with DHS, shall make payments not to exceed $1 billion in the aggregate through fiscal year 2010 to carry out the PSIC program. Grants will be awarded by September 30, 2007, and grant projects will be completed in Fiscal Year 2010.

Legislation

• S.93 : A bill to authorize NTIA to borrow against anticipated receipts of the Digital Television and Public Safety Fund to initiate migration to a national IP-enabled emergency network capable of receiving and responding to all citizen activated emergency, Thomas 1/5/2007

Federal Activity

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Releases Report On Commission's Preparedness For A Major Public Emergency. News Release. News Media Contact: Jen Howard at 0506, email: Jen.Howard or Robert Kenny at 2668, email: Robert.Kenny PSHSB OCH TXT

Papers

• Phil Weiser, Communicating During Emergencies: Toward Interoperability and Effective Information Management, 59 Fed. Comm. L.J. 547 (2007).
• Piyawut Srichaikul, The Importance of the Internet in Disaster Relief ITU 2006 (discussing emergency communications after the tsunami)
• Reed Hundt, Carl Malamud, A Better Communications System for Emergency Workers, Center for American Progress (Sept 9, 2005)

News

• Wireless Web could aid disaster response: FCC commissioner touts Wi-Fi plan, TMCNet 4/5/2006
• Communications still a problem in disasters, experts say, CW 2/28/2006
• How To Put Together A Disaster-Recovery Plan, Networking Pipeline 2/17/2006
• Choosing the Best Disaster-Recovery Service Provider, Networking Pipeline 2/17/2006