Communications interoperability issues dominate hearing: "Obstacles to achieving seamless communications between police, fire, ambulance and other first-responder agencies prompted sharp comments from lawmakers during a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing today. "

Katrina's wake leaves response agencies with a mission: close coordination gaps: "Hurricane Katrina has left in its wake a heightened awareness of the many IT-related gaps in emergency response systems in the Gulf Coast regions, and most likely in other communities throughout the nation.

Shortcomings were rampant among the systems handling emergency communications, disaster resource management, situational awareness, patient tracking, disease surveillance and post-disaster family reunification, experts said. "

NLETS Goes Cisco: "On [Sept 28th], Cisco Systems Inc. announced that [NLETS], the International Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network, has been upgraded to a standards-based Cisco Internet Protocol (IP) network. The network delivers transmissions over the network in a matter of seconds, with greater security and enhanced capabilities."