Responding to the possibility for congestion of the emergency communications system in case of a catastrophe, as well as a general need for increased capacity, D.C. will begin testing a new private wireless network that can handle high-speed data transmissions, according to the Washington Post.
The $2.7 million year-long pilot program will allow around 200 people to access the network through laptops. If successful, the District would serve as a model for similar municipal emergency communication programs across the nation.
Unfortunately, while the new program increases emergency preparedness for large-scale disasters, city officials have yet to bring basic everyday emergency communications networks such as 911 to full efficiency.
Delays in the 911 system are a chronic problem in the District. In Jan. 2003, residents in Dupont Circle tried to report what would become a fatal house fire, only to be put on hold (although D.C. authorities hold that that did not affect response times). Thirteen operators were supposedly on duty at the time, but only six operators were actually taking calls. In July of the same year, an emergency communications center power failure blocked some calls and temporarily downed the fire department radio network. Emergency agency officials claimed that even a short outage of 911 and radio dispatch could have been disastrous in the event of a crisis.
The District expects to fix its 911 woes by the end of this year when the responsibility for emergency communications is transferred to a new Unified Communication Center that will consolidate fire, medical and police calls, which currently are fielded by separate operators. The city should be commended for taking actions to improve the most basic mechanism of emergency response systems. However the current 911 troubles do not put the District in a position to become a leader for high-tech test projects.
