Amateur radio can play a major role during disasters and...
Amateur radio can play a major role during disasters and could prove even more valuable if there were more cooperation on training protocols among the federal government, public safety, emergency management officials and amateur radio emergency communications associations and groups,…
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the FCC Wireless and Public Safety bureaus said in a new report to Congress (http://xrl.us/bnmo2t). The report recommended that the Department of Homeland Security “work with state, local, and tribal authorities to develop disaster area access policies and qualifications for trained amateur operators who provide emergency communications support.” The report cited news reports and various case studies of how amateur radio operators have already been important to sustained communications when disaster strikes. Responses to an FCC public notice “indicate agreement between the amateur radio community and public safety community as to the utility of amateur radio in emergency response situations,” the report said. “Amateur radio communications are suited to disaster response in a way that many more advanced forms of communication today are not, thereby allowing it to supplement other emergency communications activities during disasters.” Because amateur networks are generally spread across wide geographical areas “they have the ability to spread critical disaster-related information to areas far from the disaster area,” the report found. “Because they can utilize different frequency bands and emission types, amateur radio networks can operate under a wide variety of conditions. The flexibility and geographical dispersion of amateur radio networks provide advantages for relaying information out of localized disaster zones and into outside jurisdictions coordinating recovery efforts."