FCC reaches out to Texas PSAPs in preparation for Hurricane Rita.(News)

RCR Wireless News, September, 2005

Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it was reaching out to public-safety officials in Texas to make sure they knew that 911 calls should be rerouted if a public-safety answering point is damaged by Hurricane Rita. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was summoned to Capitol Hill to tell the Senate Commerce Committee about the commission's efforts and reactions to Hurricane Katrina.

One of the key lessons that Martin said the FCC learned was that the Gulf-area PSAPs did not know where to transfer traffic when several 911 call centers went down. "They didn't have a protocol in place as to where the traffic should go, so the calls were just dropped,'' Martin told lawmakers. While the Senate Commerce...

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