NPSTC Katrina Comment FINAL 08 07 06

Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Recommendations of the Independent Panel ) EB Docket No. 06-119 Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on ) Communications Networks ) ) ) COMMENTS OF THE NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) submits these comments in response to the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the above proceeding. The NPRM addresses the recommendations of the Commission’s Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks (Independent Panel). The Independent Panel’s important work indicates several areas where emergency response can be enhanced. These areas involve matters within the Commission’s specific authority and where its leadership, as the regulator of local and state wireless communications, is critical. NPSTC agrees that pre-positioning equipment is a vital element of emergency response and must include all public safety frequency bands, including the much relied upon VHF band. To be effective, pre-positioning encompasses testing, maintaining, transporting the equipment, and ensuring that it is operated by trained individuals. Pre-positioning is an integral part of the planning, management, training and overall preparedness necessary to meet the exigencies of a disaster. NPSTC also believes that several matters in ...