2009 State of the Technology Conference

Atlanta, October 5, 2009 - The Wireless RERC recently held its Wireless Emergency Communications State of Technology Conference (September 21-23, 2009). The timing was significant given the fact it was National Preparedness Month and that, on the opening day, a state of emergency was declared in Georgia due to flooding and thunderstorms.

The day after the conference ended, President Obama issued a declaration of disaster relief for the state. Despite these circumstances, there were still more than 185 attendees at the conference, representing 15 countries and 22 states. The conference had 65 speakers on panels and sessions that discussed the accessibility of emergency communications and alerts for people with disabilities. Among the topics covered were technological solutions, user needs, policy and regulatory aspects, social networks, emergency management, and deployment strategies to ensure that people with disabilities are included in the development of next generation emergency communications.

Speakers at the conference included representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, FEMA, GEMA, Department of Homeland Security headquarters, CTIA-The Wireless Association, Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), Gallaudet University, National Emergency Number Association, Cambridge University, Research in Motion, National Council on Disabilities, National Organization on Disability, and the WGBH National Center for Accessible Media.

The Conference Proceedings will be made available in early November. In addition, selected papers will be published in a forthcoming special issue of the International Journal of Emergency Management. In the meantime, conference information will continue to be available at [