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FCC Katrina Panel Holds First Meeting
January 30, 2006 at 7:36 PM (PT)
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The FCC held its first meeting of the independent panel reviewing the impact of HURRICANE KATRINA on communications networks, and Chairman KEVIN MARTIN noted that the panel is a "unique endeavor. Today, for the first time, we’re bringing together experts from all sectors of the communications industry – wireline and wireless, broadcast and cable, satellite and terrestrial service providers, and equipment providers – to study the impact of a disaster and develop recommendations to improve our response and recovery efforts for the future."
If you ruffle feathers, so be it
Commissioner MICHAEL COPPS told the panel that "nothing trumps public safety and homeland security. We need to be ready for the next cataclysm, whether its origin be unbridled nature or murderous terrorists, and I think most of us agree we have a lot of work still to do.... don’t shy away from asking the tough questions and hunting down the difficult and perhaps unsettling answers. This cannot be a superficial examination. Go wherever the facts lead. If you ruffle feathers, so be it."
The panel includes representatives from the broadacasting, cable, telecom, and utilities industries, public safety officers (police, fire, and rescue), and representatives from the NAACP and LULAC. MARTIN noted that the panel has been asked to submit its report by JUNE.

