[Scan-DC] Is Maryland prepared for a disaster?-No

[Marcelrf@bellsouth.net]

Is Maryland prepared for a disaster?- No

Progress slow toward emergency radio systems that can talk toeach other
BY CARLA CORREA
Capital News Service

More than two years after the Sept. 11 attacks, communications between emergency
personnel are still hindered by incompatible equipment and insufficient radio
frequencies, officials told a congressional hearing Thursday.
Lawmakers and emergency officials at the hearing on "first-responder
interoperability" said a lack of funds and a lack of communication building
compatible systems as quickly as they should.

But they also said that the problem is not likely to be solved by throwing
billions of dollars at communities for expensive, new equipment, if there is no
guarantee that all jurisdictions get compatible, working equipment. Local and
federal officials still do not have a concrete plan to improve the systems, they
said.

"There are no perfect national solutions to interoperability," Montgomery County
Council member Marilyn Praisner said at the hearing.

"The nuances of each region are too complex for a one-size-fits-all approach."
Praisner, chairwoman of the National Association of Counties' Telecommunications
and Technology Committee, said heavy commercial use of radio bandwidth blocks
some public safety officials from using their radio systems�crucial pieces of
equipment for emergencies ranging from car accidents to terrorist attacks.

For example, she said, Anne Arundel County has immense problems with its public
safety radio system, which operates on the 800-megahertz band. Emergency
personnel in the county have trouble using portable receivers near commercial
radio antenna sites that also operate on that same bandwidth.

Lawmakers said one option would be for the Federal Communications Commission to
allocate bandwidth for public safety purposes only. But different jurisdictions
use different radio systems, so transition would be difficult.

George Ake, the coordinator of the Capital Wireless Integrated Network, said it
would be hard to convince agencies and municipalities to switch after they have
already spent money to update emergency communication equipment on an existing
band. Ake, who oversees a project to implement a single transportation and
public safety network in the Washington, DC, region, said governments are not
likely to simply throw their current system away and invest in a new one.
Praisner, who is also chairwoman of a government alliance called TeleCommUnity,
said another problem is that not enough local elected officials are at the
bargaining tables. That means they may not know what to spend money on.
Lawmakers agreed that the government should set up a timetable for
interoperability, allocate more resources for first responders, and free up
enough of the airwaves so that emergency communication is not interrupted.

"Somalia and Chad two years from now will have better interoperability "if
action is not taken, said Rep. William J. Janklow, D-S.D.

"What we want to do here is get down to the bottom line," said Rep. C. A.
"Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-Cockeysville. "We need to be able to communicate beyond
our own region and states. Crime has no geographical boundaries."
http://www.takoma.com/archives/copy/2003/12/disaster2.html