James Barnett is a retired Navy rear admiral and a Senior Research Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He is currently serving as Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. In a recent op-ed for The Hill, he writes that the tragic earthquake in Haiti reminds us that disaster can strike anytime, anywhere. Yet despite our experience with disasters here in the US, including the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina, we still lack an effective, interoperable communications network for first responders. Barnett writes, "In today’s high-tech world, it is almost unthinkable that firefighters cannot effectively communicate with police officers or paramedics seamlessly during emergencies." He says investment in a public safety broadband wireless network must become a priority. Click here to read the full article.
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