ASPEN, Colo.-Two Federal Communications Commission officials put wireless communications technology to use when stormy weather trapped them in a gondola in Aspen during the Progress & Freedom Foundation’s Aspen Summit telecommunications conference this week, according to the Associated Press.
Unbeknownst to gondola operators, John Muleta, chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and Robert Pepper, adviser to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, were on their way down the mountain when the gondola was shut down due to inclement weather. The men used their cell phones to call 911, and Muleta was able to direct authorities to their location on the mountain. Ironically, enhanced 911 features were apparently not in place.
“We were very glad that we had our cell pones with us. We were very glad there was service there,” Muleta told the AP.
