Emergency communications system in the spotlight
Major emergency situations over the past several years have pointed out a significant problem with the emergency communications system: Incompatible radio equipment has made it impossible for various emergency-responders to share information. Congress is expected to pass a bill to allocate additional radio frequencies and more funds to improve the system, but some state and local governments have chosen to pursue their own initiatives. Still, the process of upgrading systems is expected to be expensive, and other hurdles remain, such as poor cooperation among different agencies and a lack of a common radio communications standard. USA TODAY (12/28)