ARRL Alabama Section Manager to Address FCC Katrina Review
Session
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 7, 2006--ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, will speak at the March 7 session of the FCC's
independent panel that's reviewing Hurricane Katrina's impact on communications
networks. This
week's FCC panel sessions are being held at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
"The first day of the Federal Communications Commission's independent
panel reviewing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on communications networks went
well," Sarratt reported. He notes that FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin and
Commissioner Deborah T. Tate attending the opening session of the 25-member
panel. The meeting is open to the public.
For more than a month following Hurricane Katrina, Sarratt--working
at an American Red Cross staging area in Montgomery, Alabama--headed the
volunteer effort to process Amateur Radio volunteers headed to the Gulf Coast to assist recovery operations.
 At the Montgomery staging area, Alabama SM Greg Sarratt,
W4OZK (left), and El Erby, K4DJL, a volunteer who managed the net tying
shelters with Red Cross. [Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, Photo] |
The 30 presenters have been broken down into five panels
covering various aspects of telecommunications. Three of the panels presented March 6, and two will address the FCC panel today. Sarratt is scheduled to present his remarks
in the fifth panel. Presenters have 10 minutes each to speak, "and it is hard to
tell our story in that time frame," Sarratt added.
In
announcing the Jackson sessions, the FCC said the panel meeting would include oral
presentations regarding the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the telecommunications
and media infrastructure--including public safety communications. Presenters
also have been invited to discuss ways to "improve disaster preparedness, network
reliability and communications among first responders such as police, fire fighters
and emergency medical personnel."
ARRL already has provided a written report to the independent
FCC review panel. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, recently named Sarratt to
serve on the ARRL National Emergency Response Planning Committee.
Page last modified: 01:03 PM, 07 Mar 2006 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2006, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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