January 13th 2008, 8:00am - 3:45pm

Pacific Telecommunications Council
PTC'08 Conference : Emergency Communications and Disaster Management Workshop
Venue: Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu HI
Civil security authorities face a new constellation of man-made hazards and the increasing frequency and power of calamitous natural events. Innovative network services, applications and versatile procedures determine the scope and quality of surveillance, situational awareness, command and control, incident management, first response and public warning in times of crisis. Communications plays an essential uniting force in the management of this operational complexity. The latest generation of networking solutions and common operational software are truly cheaper, better, faster, and easier to use. With advanced decision support tools and very high speed wireless broadband now available almost immediately in emergency environments, disaster managers and first responders are dramatically better equipped to safeguard society.

-- Patrick Lanthier, Principal, Rivera/ Lanthier & Associates
-- Ken Zita, VP for Conferences, PTC Board of Governors & Managing Partner, Network Dynamics Associates

Current Activities

The first eCLIC pilot project; the LIVERMORE INFO NET COLLABOARATIVE (LINC) is underway. This collaboration includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, Livermore/Pleasanton Fire Dept., Livermore Police Dept, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), Sandia Labs, and others. LINC was successfully demonstrated during district-wide emergency drills in April and November 2007. For the first time, collaborative managers remotely viewed live video and sensors inputs on interactive map-based Common Operational Picture computer screens. The wireless high speed network also provided connections for the local community’s "tent city" that was developing on the school fields (the Loma Prieta earthquake actually created such "tent cities" on school grounds in California).

SeCLIC, the STANFORD EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP & INNOVATION CENTER is the second eCLIC program under development. SeCLIC has convened several meetings and a successful LINC-like demonstration at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (in May 2007, with the addition of underground wireless video via small “breadcrumbs” radios). Both daily campus/community protection applications and advanced emergency management were demonstrated. SeCLIC is open to all interested parties and our meetings include police, fire, military, and emergency services leaders. Currently, SeCLIC is led by volunteers from Palo Alto Fire Dept. (R. Hull), SLAC (R. Reek), the Stanford University Environmental Health & Safety Group (K. Perry), and the WCA eCLIC chairman (P. Lanthier). No further demos are scheduled, however talks continue.

User-centered "democratized innovation" principles guide eCLIC projects (see MIT’s Dr. Eric von Hippel’s work). SeCLIC, LINC, and eCLIC leverage investments from, and experience with, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Information Technology Evaluation Program, the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School’s Hastily Formed Networks program, the National Incident Management System, the Golden Gate Safety Network, CalOES, and other national and international efforts...using today’s technologies.

Other WCA eCLIC activities:

• September 2007 : Applied for a California state “Connected and Protected Communities” Grant
• October 2007 : Discussions underway with U.S. DHS and Michigan State University for the CIP-Critical Incident Protocol program link to eCLIC
• Pat Lanthier (& eCLIC) named to the California Wireless Panel of Expert Advisor’s for the state’s "Wireless Comparative Analysis and Best Practices Education Project", with CETF, BBIC, CCTPG, and Community Partners
• SUASI : Super Urban Area Security Initiative Planning Team work underway
• September 2007 : Pat Lanthier (& eCLIC) named Co-Chair of the Pacific Telecom Council’s (PTC) "Emergency Communications & Disaster Management Workshop" - this is an International event set for January 13, 2008, in Honolulu HI
• November 2007 : Silicon Valley DPI: eCLIC on Response Team
• November 2007 : CDN: eCLIC on Planning Team
• October 2007: eCLIC supports NIST Project 25/34/OLES/TIA 4.9 GHz assessment team
• October 2007: eCLIC spearheads and supports successful FCC waiver request filed by the Washington D.C. law firm, Wiley Rein LLP (WCA eCLIC advisors)
• November 1, 2 2007 : Pat Lanthier (& eCLIC) in Washington D.C. with FCC, NTIA, and DH&HS, to participate in Healthcare Summit on Emergency Communications, Response and Recovery
• October 2007: Work underway with Naval Postgraduate School Maritime Interdiction Network Project
• October 2007: Work underway with FEMA/CalOES on Local Hazard Mitigation Plans
• October : Pat (eCLIC) met with eCLIC advisors in Europe (Univ. of Bremen, Thales Group, to review advanced emergency comms work with the Paris Fire Brigade (wearable computers/BB comms, 3D Common Operational Picture, in-building personnel locators, etc.)

Recent WCA eCLIC SIG Events

July 2007 : WCA General Session + eCLIC SIG
Wireless To The Rescue - Communications in a Day After Scenario
-- Rick Ellinger, President, WCA & Director, Disaster Planning Initiative, JVSV - presentation
-- Pat Lanthier, Chairman, WCA Emergency Communications Leadership and Innovation Center - presentation
-- Floyd Wilson, Facilities Director, Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District & Co-Founder, Livermore Info Net Collaborative (LINC) - presentation
-- Dipak Basu, Program Director, INSTEDD & Project Leader, Community Disaster Networking Initiative - presentation
-- Sue Leonard, Director Homeland Security, AT&T

May 2007 : eCLIC SIG
Emergency Communications 2.0
 (This event was a live exercise/drill held at Stanford Linear Accelerator)

April 2007 : eCLIC SIG
New Age Emergency Communications -- Real Lessons from the Field
-- Dr. Bill Dunlop & Team, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore
-- Dr. Alex Bordetsky & Team, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey

February 2007 : eCLIC SIG
Innovative eCLIC Technology...NOW!
-- Richard Santina, Safety and Security Systems BU, Cisco
-- Rakesh Bharania, Safety and Security Systems BU, Cisco
-- Clarence Boice, President, IPS
-- Jason Schwark, SAIC

About the WCA eCLIC

The WCA's Emergency Communications Leadership & Innovation Center (eCLIC) is a Special Interest Group (SIG) within the WCA that serves as an open forum to stimulate the advancement and widespread use of Wireless Broadband networks and Collaborative (e.g.: Common Operational Picture) Applications for emergency services and protection management for both disaster response/recovery and daily use.

The eCLIC goal is to realize a user-friendly "point and click" application-rich wireless world for emergency responders and protection managers, so that we can enjoy "CONNECTED, PROTECTED, EDUCATED COMMUNITIES"...now.

eCLIC applies decades of field experience, focusing its efforts on three critical areas that comprise the “eCLIC Success Triad” :

• Visionary Leadership (Policies, Procedures, Agreements, Funds)
• Hard Infrastructure (Innovative Technology, Networks)
• Soft Infrastructure (Skills, Training, Applications)

Good ideas, proposals, volunteers, supporters and sponsors are welcome. Currently, eCLIC has a significant International Advisory Board and a small Leadership Group led by SIG chairman Pat Lanthier.

Event Archives
Go to the WCA Archives to review eCLIC SIG events and presentations

eCLIC SIG Mailing list
Please join the WCA Mailing List, and select "eCLIC SIG" in your preferences

Comments, Questions, Kudos, Complaints
Contact the eCLIC SIG Chair