WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps complained his agency is not doing enough to address gaps in homeland security communications, and he urged FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to appoint a commissioner to take the lead on key issues such as ensuring emergency responders at local, state and federal levels can talk to one another during a crisis.
While telling an audience at the Wireless Communications Association conference that some progress has been made since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Copps yesterday said the FCC and homeland security establishment generally have fallen short in fixing lingering communications problems.
Copps’ remarks, delivered only hours before President Bush invoked 9/11 in a national address in hopes of shoring up waning support for the Iraqi war, were arguably the harshest to date by an FCC commissioner on homeland security communications.
“In the nearly four years since 9/11, the FCC has taken some important steps. We’ve allocated more spectrum to public safety; begun the process of bringing tools like RFIDs [radio frequency identification systems] and ITS [intelligent transportation systems]; struggled with issues like CALEA [Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act] and 800 MHz; and, of course, begun to implement E911. We have convened councils with industry. Advisory committees have had meetings, and our government partners have begun to reorganize themselves. That’s all fine-but not enough. It is all very much a work in progress,” said Copps.
Copps said the nation’s homeland security planning needs to provide more clarity on the FCC’s role, adding he believes the agency should be at the forefront of developing communications solutions. Copps, an aide to former Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) before joining the FCC in 2001, said The 9/11 Commission Report “lays out in chilling detail, a state of communications unreadiness that seriously got in the way of the country’s ability to respond on that terrible day. But coming up on four years later, it also lays out a chilling picture of the state of our communications unreadiness today. We’ve taken some important steps, to be sure-and we should recognize that and be grateful for them-but the bottom line is that we are nowhere near ready for the next time.”
Copps, while noting there is a role for the wireless industry in tackling homeland security communications challenges, said it might be time for government intervention.
“We need to remember that time is no friend when it comes to terrorism,” said Copps. “Reorganization tomorrow is not enough. Voluntary best practices-which seem to be the tool of choice right now-are fine, if they are implemented quickly. But untimely implementation may be no protection at all. So when voluntary efforts fail, I believe mandatory implementation may better serve the public interest. We should have learned that with the rules that implemented E911.”
A key issue in an FCC proposal to overhaul the nation’s Cold War-era emergency alert system is whether participation in a new emergency warning system should remain voluntary for mass media and possibly for telecom carriers and Internet service providers.
In addition to recommending that Martin name a homeland security commissioner, Copps said the FCC should establish an office dedicated to helping local public-safety organizations share ideas, prepare plans, discuss proposals and coordinate plans with industry and government.
“We have a new chairman at the FCC. I know he is committed to homeland security, and I intend to work closely with him and all my colleagues to make sure we do our part,” said Copps.
An FCC spokesman for Martin did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
