Law Commons^™

Fundamental Reform In Public Safety Communications Policy, Jon M. Peha

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

The communications systems used by first responders in the U.S. are inadequate, primarily because of outdated and ineffective public policy. Fundamental reform is needed, and the upcoming digital TV transition provides an outstanding opportunity. This Article describes options available to policymakers, if they act soon.

Sending Out An S.O.S.: Public Safety Communications Interoperability As A Collective Action Problem, Jerry Brito

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

Lack of public safety communications interoperability is the result of what economist Mancur Olson called a collective action problem. In this case, the collective action problem that first responders face is caused by the federal policy of allocating and assigning public safety spectrum in a way that segregates first responders to their own bands and ultimately Balkanizes their radio systems. This Article shows that market forces can be employed to solve collective action problems, and it surveys several successful commercial interoperable …

Solving The Interoperability Problem: Are We On The Same Channel? An Essay On The Problems And Prospects For Public Safety Radio, Gerald R. Faulhaber

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

A number of disasters over the last two decades have demonstrated the dire consequences that occur when first responders are unable to communicate due to interoperability of their communications equipment. Each such disaster is followed by a strong reaction from the Federal government, promising immediate action, often with plans to deploy the latest technology. In fact, nothing has ever actually happened at the Federal level to solve first responders' interoperability problem. As I show using a case study from Delaware, states …

Communicating During Emergencies: Toward Interoperability And Effective Information Management, Philip J. Weiser

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

To change the culture and realities of public safety communications, this Article calls on policymakers to develop a new architecture for the use of information and communications technologies and provide a framework for leadership to transition to a next generation system for public safety communications. Such a culture change would include not only an embrace of new technologies, but a new framework for technology leadership--at the state or regional level-that spurs decision making in a coordinated fashion (and not through ad …

Rethinking Reform Of The Fcc: A Reply To Randolph May, Russ Taylor

Federal Communications Law Journal

This brief Article responds to Randolph May's article, Recent Developments in Administrative Law-The FCC's Tumultuous Year in 2003: An Essay on an Opportunity for Institutional Agency Reform, 56 Admin. L. Rev. 1307 (2004). Taylor disputes May's anecdotal evidence that the FCC's poor handling of the Triennial Review and the media ownership proceedings are symptomatic of a broad agency inefficiency that should be remedied by drastically cutting the size of the FCC and placing it under the exclusive control of the executive branch to ensure electoral accountability. Taylor argues that while these suggestions may have value, such a rush to action …

Privatization And The Freedom Of Information Act: An Analysis Of Public Access To Private Entities Under Federal Law, Craig D. Feiser

Federal Communications Law Journal

Congress drafted the Freedom of Information Act to ensure that the public would always be able to keep track of the events happening behind governmental agency doors. In an age of privatization of governmental services in the name of efficiency, the Act needs to be adapted to ensure that its original purpose remains sound. Thus far, courts have not kept pace with this purpose by interpreting agency and agency record under the Act too narrowly. This may very well result in government secrecy as services are farmed out to entities not covered under the Act. This Article analyzes the various …