FCC Offers Communications Assistance to Haiti

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC is ready to help out his Haitian regulatory counterpart in maintaining "continuity of service" by communications companies in the earthquake-ravaged country.

That came Sunday, Jan. 17, after Genachowski heard from the director general of Conatel, who said that the agency's headquarters had been destroyed and a number of staffers killed and injured. "We stand ready to assist Mr. Marcelin and his agency in any way that we can," he said in a statement.

"Haiti also can benefit from deployment of temporary communications in the country," he said, "including at refugee sites."

Genachowski also said a number of U.S. communications first are looking to help out as well. "Many companies have made significant offers of help, and urgent efforts are underway to coordinate and deliver assistance," he added.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.