A PDA in hand ...

A PDA in hand ...: "A PDA in hand ...
Handheld devices, not radios, could be key to emergency communications
BY Dibya Sarkar
Published on Sep. 19, 2005


Four years ago, New York City's police and firefighters were unable to communicate with one another during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because of incompatible radios. As a result, many of them died and interoperability became a national priority.

But more than two weeks ago, Hurricane Katrina's devastating effects on the Gulf Coast forced first responders and government officials to think about something else: How do you communicate in an area with no infrastructure or power?

"Interoperability isn't the main issue down there; it's operability," said Harlin McEwen, a former police chief in Ithaca, N.Y.