Gillibrand backs wireless rescuer network

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand came to the Morrelly Homeland Security Center in Bethpage on Monday to urge support for federal legislation that would build a public-safety wireless data network for emergency first responders that would link different firefighting, ambulance and other type workers with one another.

This would mean not only enhanced communications -- which were grievously lacking during the 9/11 terror attacks -- but business opportunities for the companies at the center.

One such company is GeoCommand Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., which took space at the center in February. GeoCommand said the legislation would allow it to develop new partnerships with other technology companies that work with first responders.

Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is urging that the bill, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, be passed by Congress before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The legislation, proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), would allocate 10 megahertz of spectrum, known as the "D-block," to public safety.

"Our firm had been a strong advocate" of providing more spectrum to public safety," said GeoCommand chief executive Albert Koenigsberg. If the legislation is approved, he said, "we would be able to work with the new partners at the center in collaborating on data sharing. It would mean more business."

The 9/11 Commission identified the lack of proper communications equipment as a key problem in rescue efforts during the terror attacks.