为急救人员提供新网络引发媒体的关注

New Network for Emergency Workers Raises Concerns among Media

The police chief of the state of Alaska’s largest city hurried out of his department’s glass building during a major earthquake not too long ago.

Telephone communications failed to work and even police radios were having problems after the earthquake. But, Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll’s mobile phone had recently been connected to a national wireless¹ network designed for emergency workers.

Doll was able to reach other officials who had the new high-speed connection after the 7.1 magnitude² quake last year caused widespread damage.

It proved to be the first major test in Alaska for the FirstNet network. Doll and other commanders had just agreed to take part in the test with their personal mobile phones. The important calls, made possible by FirstNet, helped emergency workers set up an operations center and organize the response to the November 30 earthquake.

“It was just random³ chance that we had started sort of testing this a little bit right before the earthquake happened,” Doll told the Associated Press. He said he felt better providing the system to his department knowing that it had worked well in an emergency.

Anchorage police officially joined the service in January. They are among thousands of public safety agencies nationwide that can use the connection during emergencies and for normal work. This includes communicating by smartphone, directing officers to calls and looking up suspect information in the field.

Agencies also can tie the network to software programs on their phones known as apps.

In Alaska, the network is seen as a new tool to connect emergency workers in a huge state with many Native American communities far away from roads. High-speed internet has been built in hard-to-reach areas in recent years. But connecting those communities is still difficult, even with FirstNet.

The network is secure, encrypted and cannot be used by the public. But it has raised concerns among media activists⁵ that the secrecy⁶ protects police and others from criticism. This comes as more agencies cut off their traditional radio communications from the public.

Both FirstNet and telecommunications company AT&T, which runs the high-speed system, say users must open parts of the network. However, the communications company did not know of any agencies that had done so.

Launched last year, the United States Congress established the network in 2012 as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist⁷ attacks. During those attacks some police and fire departments could not communicate with each other over different radio systems.

The First Responder Network Authority is an independent federal organization that oversees⁸ the network with AT&T. The organization plans to invest $40 billion over its 25-year agreement with the U.S. government.

The U.S. was the first to roll out a government-supported wireless network for emergency responders. Nations like Australia, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are studying FirstNet as they look to create similar services, said spokeswoman April Ward⁹.

Verizon has rolled out a similar service for first responders not tied to the government but would not say how many agencies use it. More than 7,250 departments nationwide have joined FirstNet, AT&T said.

FirstNet continues to expand

Chris Sambar is AT&T’s senior vice⁴ president for FirstNet. He said more than half of the system has been completed.

In Alaska, the five-year goal is to build the network to cover more than 90 percent of the population. But the FirstNet plan noted¹⁰ that still represents less than half of the state’s spread out tribal¹¹ lands.

For now, nothing will take the place of Alaska’s mobile radio network, said John Rockwell. He is a state official who worked on the plan.

“I really believe in FirstNet,” he said. “It’s just not there yet.”

Hal Lowder is city emergency manager for the small community of Whiteville, North Carolina. He said the town lost all connections except for FirstNet when Hurricane Florence hit last September.

Even FirstNet started slowing down when officials tried to send large amounts of data. So they turned to a tool available to all users of the system: equipment that turns a satellite signal into a mobile phone tower.

“It worked perfectly¹², even at slow speeds,” Lowder said.

Increasingly, police radio communications are not available to the public. A growing number of agencies, including Anchorage police, do not permit others to listen to police radio. They say it is over safety concerns. But this removes a traditional resource for reporters and others.

FirstNet is raising concerns about decreasing freedom of information.

J. Alex Tarquinio is president of the Society of Professional Journalists. She believes a government-supported service should include some part that is open to the media.

“The government has an obligation¹³ — because this is a public service — to find a way to provide that information to journalists, so journalists can continue to cover incidents and emergency response in a timely¹⁴ way,” Tarquinio said.

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

And I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

mobile – adj. able to be moved

network – n. a system of computers and other devices that are connected to each other

magnitude – n. a number that shows the power of an earthquake

response – n. something that is done as a reaction to something else

random – adj. chosen or done without a particular plan or pattern

smartphone – n. a mobile telephone that can be used to send and receive e-mail, connect to the Internet and take photographs

encrypted – adj. changed from one form to another especially to hide its meaning

tribal – adj. of or relating to a group of people that includes many families and relatives who have the same language, customs, and beliefs

journalist(s) – n. a person whose job is collecting, writing, and editing¹⁵ news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

obligation – n. something that you must do because of a law, rule or promise

1 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

2 magnitude   

n.大小；重大；星等

参考例句：

• I want to know the magnitude of this equipment.我想知道这个设备的大小。
• I hadn't realized the magnitude of the problem.我没有认识到这个问题的重要性。

3 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

7 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

8 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

9 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 obligation   

n.（法律、道德上的）义务，责任

参考例句：

• Every player is under an obligation to keep the rules.每个选手都必须遵守这些规则。
• It is the obligation of citizens to perform military service.服兵役是每个公民的义务。

14 timely   

adj.及时的，适时的；adv.及时地

参考例句：

• We are particularly grateful to him for his timely help.我们特别感谢他的及时帮助。
• Your arrival was most timely yesterday.你们昨天来得非常及时。

15 editing   

adj.编辑的

参考例句：

• The processing of data in random order,not subject to preliminary editing or sorting.未经预先编辑或分类，以任意次序对数据进行的处理的做法。