After La. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco blasted telecom providers for failing to deal with the destroyed wireless infrastructure in the wake of Katrina -  "The communications network is completely gone," Blanco said Sept. 1 - the FCC yesterday claimed the agency was working efficiently with industry to restore service, according to EE Times.

In a joint statement, FCC commissioners said the agency "has been in continual contact with the industry and has taken prompt action, where necessary, to provide regulatory relief to facilitate restoration efforts." It cited efforts to deploy alternative communications networks in the Gulf region to speed the efforts.

"We have also assisted in performing coordination activities between the industry and federal emergency authorities as appropriate," the agency said. "We will continue doing everything within our power to ensure the vitality of the nation's communications network. We are confident that all service providers will do the same."

EE Times quoted an unnamed source accusing government at all levels of

"gross oversight" for relying on fixed communications networks to coordinate relief efforts. Portable RF systems with portable generators should have been used for emergency communications, the source said.

Emergency Wireless White Papers

• Rapidly Deployable Broadband Wireless Communications for Emergency Management - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Wireless IP - Internet Without Wires - National Communications System
• HP: First Responders - Hewlett-Packard
• Capital Wireless Integrated Network (CAPWIN): An Integrated Transportation and Public Safety Information Network - Harvard University
• Wireless Privacy and Spam: Issues for Congress - Library of Congress
• Telecommunications: Uneven Implementation of Wireless Enhanced 911 Raises Prospect of Piecemeal Availability for Years to Come - Government Accountability Office
• Panasonic: Wireless Panasonic Toughbooks Go Everywhere Mobile Government Goes - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co
• Investing in Innovation: MCI Helps Government Connect - e.Republic
• Communications Interoperability: A Critical Link in Emergency Response - Motorola
• California’s Second-Largest City Improves Emergency Medical Care, Streamlines Billing With Electronic Patient Data Gathering - palmOne