FCC Field Hearing Underscores Technology’s Changing Role in Emergency Communications

Backup power needs to be readily available “without a lot of maintenance cost and without a lot of work needed to keep it operational,” said Electric Power Research Institute Program Manager for Energy Storage Haresh Kamath. He questioned the reliability of traditional batteries, but credited the virtues of lithium ion batteries, citing their longer life and better reliability despite higher initial capital costs: “These latter technologies show promising backup applications but are still at early stages.” It’s important to keep devices of all sorts charged, he said.

"We can learn from our mistakes,” FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said, noting his vote in favor of a prior backup power mandate the agency had considered years ago after Hurricane Katrina, despite some of his reservations at the time. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel called that attempt “overbroad and a little simplistic” but wondered what the FCC should do now in light of all the outages after Sandy. It’s difficult to have any “one-size-fits-all rule,” Kamath said. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski expressed reservations about the past attempt, which transpired under Chairman Kevin Martin, but also wondered about a need for “greater transparency” involving backup power “as a way to empower consumers.”

Questions of technological needs and communications tools filled the hours of talk. California is working on its next-generation systems, said Sen. Alex Padilla (D), chair of the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. He referred to a recent meeting on them in the state: “Today’s hearing is certainly timely as a follow-up to those conversations and underscores the necessity for combined federal and state initiatives” on emergency communications. California prides itself on its innovation related to the Internet and apps but also faces great threats from earthquakes and wildfires, he added. “Californians remember the epicenters of our earthquakes.” He pointed to wireless and broadband networks and mobile devices as safeguards in these disasters, he said, crediting the significance of early warnings in such moments. These concerns, particularly as they pertain to California’s earthquakes, “should be one of the nation’s highest priorities,” Padilla told FCC commissioners.

There’s a “burgeoning mobile traffic demand” that will require small cell technology to meet it, said Qualcomm Research and Development Vice President Nayeem Islam, saying he’s “very enthusiastic” about that and new LTE Direct technology. San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management has focused on how to tap social media, said Resilience and Recovery Manager Alicia Johnson. “We aim to meet people when and where they are.”

Facebook can play “a pivotal role in disaster relief and preparedness,” said Fred Wolens, a public policy team member at the social media company, describing its actions after recent events in Haiti. In the past, people developed telephone trees to help remain in contact with associates during disasters but now perhaps they should develop social media trees to do the same, he said. The matter of sifting through this social data is crucial, panelists agreed, pointing to how higher levels of crowd-sourcing can help verify information. “You really see the cream rising to the top,” Wolens said.

Rogue Genius Principal George Chamales described the usefulness of looking through this information in other countries, describing recent efforts in Sudan and turning people on the ground “from victims into assets.” There are network processing tools to help pinpoint what’s important amid the potential challenge of too much information, he said. Commissioner Ajit Pai noted the challenges San Francisco officials may face, involving many different languages in one city, and expressed concern for how the city has progressed with next-gen initiatives such as text-to-911. Johnson said text-to-911 has been discussed but is in no way a reality yet.

Don’t overlook the significance of Wi-Fi networks, a possible solution during disasters, said Comcast Senior Vice President Tom Nagel. He suggested a functioning network may be more meaningful than re-establishing a cell site because more consumers may be able to access information if they have devices that can access the Internet. More spectrum’s needed, he said, pointing to the 5 GHz band. That band is important “because it exists and it’s in a lot of devices as we speak,” he told Pai during one exchange. “Getting an ecosystem built around a brand new band just takes time.” Voice networks tend to get overwhelmed, which is why packets are important, he said.