FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Terrie Prosper, 415.703.1366, news@cpuc.ca.gov

CPUC TO HOLD WORKSHOP ON COMMUNICATION ISSUES AND
BEST PRACTICES POST-SOCAL FIRESTORMS

SAN FRANCISCO, December 4, 2007 - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today announced it will hold a workshop in San Diego to discuss communication lessons learned as a result of the recent Southern California firestorms.

What: Panel discussions featuring telecommunications companies, city and government officials, and others discussing communication issues and best practices learned during the firestorms.

When: Wednesday, January 9, 2008

9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.


Where: Caltrans District 11 Building

4050 Taylor St., San Diego

"As the Commissioner assigned to the proceeding in which we are addressing standards for telecommunications backup power systems and emergency notification systems, I want to ensure that we are even more prepared in the event of another disaster," said CPUC Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon.

Added Commissioner Rachelle Chong, "This workshop will offer us the opportunity to hear first-hand about communication issues faced during the fires. Understanding how cities, emergency services, carriers, and others responded to the fires and the best practices they utilized will serve us well in the future."

Members of the public are invited to attend the workshop. If special accommodations are needed, such as language interpreters, please call the CPUC's Public Advisor at (415) 703-2074 or send an email to: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov.

The draft agenda for the workshop is below.

For more information on communication issues, please visit www.CalPhoneInfo.com.

For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.

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Draft Agenda

9:30 a.m. - 10 a.m.

· Welcome by CPUC Commissioners Timothy Alan Simon and Rachelle Chong and Office of Emergency Services (OES) officials

· Acknowledgement of other local officials in attendance

· Comments by state Senator Christine Kehoe

10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Panel 1: How Cities and Localities Responded to the Firestorm

Purpose - This panel will give a review of the Southern California firestorms as to communications issues and how the state, localities, and OES responded. Issues covered will include interoperability, reverse 911/emergency notification systems, 211 and other systems.

Panelists - City of San Diego, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, San Diego County, and University of California San Diego

Moderator - Commissioner Simon, CPUC

 

11 a.m. - noon

Panel 2: How Carriers Responded/Best Practices

Purpose - Communication carriers will share their experiences during the firestorms, and also discuss best practices and lessons learned for emergency situations, including network issues, back up power issues, communication strategies with local authorities and impacted customers, outreach, additional deployment of staff/repair crews.

Panelists - AT&T, Verizon, Cox, T-Mobile

Moderator - Commissioner Chong, CPUC

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Panel 3: How Notification System Vendors Responded/Best Practices

Purpose - This panel will be composed of notification system vendors that provided systems or services during the California wild fires. They will review best practices and lessons learned.

Panelists - Plant CML, NTI, Twenty First Century Communications

Moderator - Representative of Telcordia

2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Panel 4: Proceedings on Backup Power and Emergency Notification

Purpose - To provide an overview of the CPUC Rulemaking that resulted from Assembly Bill 2393, and also to discuss the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) progress in this area and the reports that they have issued.

Panelists - Commissioner Simon to discuss the CPUC progress; Telcordia to discuss the FCC reports; and a report on the FCC's CSMAAC Committee progress.

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Panel 5: Next Steps for Improvement

Purpose - How to improve the State's interoperability of Emergency communications systems and emergency notification systems:

· Lessons from the recent firestorms

· Development of a statewide best practices guide

Panelists - Representatives from OES, Department of General Services, AT&T, Plant CML, and San Diego Fire Department

Moderator - Commissioner Simon, CPUC