WASHINGTON-The seventh iteration of the FCC’s Network Reliability & Interoperability Council convened Tuesday with a wireless chief executive, Timothy Donahue of Nextel Communications Inc., as chair for the first time.
This is “the first time a wireless company has assumed the leadership role. It is a testimony to the growing importance of wireless networks,” said FCC Chairman Michael Powell.
The main focus of NRIC VII will be wireless enhanced 911 with a continuing look at homeland security and network reliability, said Powell.
“In this time of heightened national concern for public safety it is only proper for us to focus a large portion of NRIC’s energy on the reliability and security of our nation’s emergency services communications networks. The limitations of our existing E911 implementations are well known,” said Powell. NRIC will also “examine the homeland security best practices that have been available for the past year, follow up on issues that were identified by the previous council, and improve the best practices to better fortify our critical communications infrastructure. Even as homeland security concerns loom, the reliability of communications under normal circumstances cannot escape our attention. NRIC has a long history of producing best practices in this area.”
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps appeared to stress again that if companies do not adopt the best practices developed by NRIC, the Federal Communications Commission might be forced to mandate their use. While an NRIC member from BellSouth Corp. expressed concern about this stance, there does seem to be a recognition that when best practices are not used and problems occur, the urge to mandate best practices grows.
NRIC, made up of industry executives, has been meeting for more than a decade to collect data on and examine solutions to network outages. Its portfolio of issues has steadily increased and grown more important with the advent of homeland security.
Also new to NRIC are members of the public-safety community. Steve Marzolf, president of the National Association of State E911 Coordinators, said there are limitations in the 911 systems because many public-safety answering points are using decades-old technology.
“The PSAPs are struggling to keep up with the demands of our public and our systems,” said Marzolf. “The PSAPs are increasingly trapped by 1970s technology.”
