**REMARKS OF\
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS**

**PANEL REVIEWING THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON COMMUNICATIONS
NETWORKS**

**WASHINGTON, DC**

**JANUARY 30, 2006**

This is one meeting I really wanted to attend, but I am unable to be
with you this morning because of a commitment made last year to
represent the FCC at a multilateral conference. I wanted to be in
Washington to welcome you, to thank you, and to talk about where you're
headed.

So, first of all, welcome. We're pleased you're here. Thank you for
agreeing to serve and for committing what will no doubt be serious time
and energy to this important effort. As many of you have heard me say,
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.

Restoring the Gulf Coast communications network---all those links torn
asunder by the wind and water of Hurricane Katrina---is as challenging a
communication mission as this nation has ever confronted. I commend
Chairman Martin and so many of our FCC staff for their tireless efforts
to aid recovery in the storm's immediate aftermath. I also salute the
companies for the work they did. In the days following the storm,
companies that usually compete with one another worked together in a
spirit of mutual help. Inter-modal competition gave way to inter-modal
cooperation and it served the public interest. Now everyone on this
panel is charged with working together to serve the public interest.

That demands a thorough look, perhaps some very difficult calls, digging
out the facts and making them known, and letting the chips fall where
they may. You must determine as a group what actions are
necessary---both short-term and long-term---to upgrade network
reliability, build in systems redundancy, and enhance the survivability
of our nation's communications systems. What you develop here will be
tremendously relevant when we are face-to-face with more ravages of
nature or with additional terrorist attacks. Concrete actions to fix our
communications systems have been a long time coming---too long. We saw
the results of communications failures on 9/11, over four years ago. We
saw them again during the East Coast black-out, and then more recently
with the hurricanes. This time, we dare not fail in our emergency
planning efforts.

So we're looking to you. At their best, advisory panels like this one
dig with an open mind into tough issues, identify and face up to the
mistakes or shortfalls that are discovered, and make real-world---and
sometimes very tough---recommendations to address them.

I expect that when you are through, we will understand, at a minimum (1)
which parts of the wireline and wireless networks failed during the
emergency, how long they were down, how many people were affected, and
any ripple effects these failures had; (2) whether fail-safe and backup
systems worked, where and for how long, where they didn't work and why
not, and what alternative technologies or systems could contribute in a
future emergency; (3) the state of police, fire, 911, and healthcare
communications systems readiness throughout the emergency, what worked
and what didn't; and (4) the problems various federal, state, and local
responder systems had talking to each other and what specific actions
must be undertaken to help these first responders develop the
interoperable networks they need. No doubt many other questions need to
be asked as you work toward the recommendations you have been asked to
produce.

The crux of my message this morning is this: 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. You may also
be the target of heavy lobbying. Resist any pressures to sweep issues
under the carpet. When lives are on the line, it is your job on this
panel to be tough and diligent to get the answers and make the hard
calls. Your panel's work will not only help the Commission and help
industry; it can assist Congress and help our sister federal agencies,
state and local governments, first responders, and the entire public
safety, law enforcement and healthcare provider communities.

Two final thoughts. Do what you are going to do in an open public
process. A closed process can only detract from the credibility that
needs to attend your effort. Second, recognize there is a broad range of
voices out there that are not represented on this panel---for example,
Americans with disabilities. I urge you to reach out to them and to all
those who are not sitting at your table this morning but whose
viewpoints are important for your review and critical to their future.
There are a lot of stakeholders in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast
whose lives were permanently and profoundly transformed by Katrina and
the other storms. They not only deserve to be heard, they ***need*** to
be heard, and the extent to which they are heard is surely going to be
one touchstone by which your fellow citizens judge the success of your
endeavor. You need to be reaching out.

Again, thank you for taking on this tough assignment. You have an
incredible amount of work to do in a very short time, and I expect you
are anxious to begin. So I'll conclude with my best wishes as you begin
your work, and I want each of you to know that, in addition to our
Bureau staff, my office and I stand ready to assist you howsoever we
can. Thank you all.