FCC unveils public-safety roadmap

The Federal Communications Commission today issued a report on the agency’s emergency-response systems, emphasizing the importance of cooperating with state and local responders.

To emphasize the spirit of coordination across the government, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski released the report at a media event this morning with senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In an emergency situation, the FCC’s primary responsibility is to ensure that the communications networks used by first responders and officials are reliable. In too many recent disasters (the attacks of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina being the most dramatic), those networks have failed.