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 Remarks  of  FCC  Commissioner  Jonathan  S.  Adelstein  at  the  Federal  Communications  Commission’s 
 Independent  Panel  on  Hurricane  Katrina  Washington,  DC 
 January  30,  2006 
 Thank  you  all  so  much  for  your  willingness  to  serve  on  this  blue  ribbon  panel.  Your  convening  today  represents  a  crucial  step  in  the  effort  to  move  forward  in  the  aftermath  of  a 
 season  of  devastating  hurricanes.  And  you  are  in  able  hands  thanks  to  Nancy  Victory,  who  so  thoughtfully  agreed  to  serve  as  your  chair.  I  wish  I  could  join  you  in  person,  but  I  am  on  travel 
 today. 
 I  want  to  thank  the  Chairman  for  convening  this  group.  It  can  play  a  key  role  in  improving  our  nation’s  disaster  preparedness,  network  reliability,  and  communications  among 
 first  responders.  We  need  efforts  like  this  to  achieve  constant  and  never  ending  improvement  to  protect  ourselves  in  the  event  of  future  disasters,  be  they  natural  or  man-  made. 


 I  will  never  forget  the  horrifying  images  I  witnessed  first  hand  when  we  visited  the  Gulf  Coast.  The  devastation  was  even  worse  than  I  could  have  ever  imagined. 
 From  our  special  FCC  meeting  in  Atlanta  last  September,  to  the  first  meeting  of  this  Panel  today,  I  remain  incredibly  impressed  with  how  well  the  telecommunications  industry  has 
 responded.  In  Atlanta,  we  heard  it  from  our  panelists,  and  saw  it  in  the  eyes  of  hundreds  of  communications  workers  who  were  laboring  around  the  clock  to  restore  connectivity  to  the  Gulf 
 Coast.  I  also  saw  it  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  lost  their  homes,  yet  still  came  out  to  work  and  to  help,  as  well.  I  saw  how  critical  it  is  that  we  all  work  closely  together  –  the  Commission 
 included  –  in  times  of  crisis. 
 We  all  understand  how  critical  telecommunications  are  not  only  for  emergency  personnel,  but  for  citizens  desperate  to  find  out  what’s  happening  with  their  families  and  friends. 


 We  need  your  help  to  assess  what  worked  well  in  Katrina’s  aftermath,  and  more  importantly,  how  we  can  improve  our  preparedness  and  response.  We  did  well,  but  we  can  do 
 better,  and  we  must  do  better...  to  help  wireless,  wireline,  media,  satellite,  and  public  safety  all  better  prepare,  respond,  and  recover  from  an  emergency  or  disaster. 


 My  trip  to  the  Gulf  Coast,  and  subsequent  discussions  with  many  of  you  and  others  in  the  industry,  helped  me  understand  the  lessons  learned.  But  there  is  much  more  to  learn,  more  to  be 
 done,  and  a  lot  of  hard  questions  yet  to  be  asked  –  about  issues  such  as  redundancy,  planning,  reliability,  and  interoperability. 


 So  I  applaud  all  of  you  involved  with  this  Panel  for  helping  us  tackle  these  issues.  I  also  commend  Chairman  Martin  and  the  FCC  staff  for  their  response  to  Hurricane  Katrina.  A  disaster 
 like  this  demonstrates  how  important  it  is  that  we  all  work  together  in  times  of  crisis. 
 Thank  you  again  for  all  of  your  effort  and  the  hard  work  ahead. 
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