1. WIRELESS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM
KARL RAUSCHER
Founder, WERT
Chair, (U.S.) FCC NRIC V Best Practices
Vice Chair, ATIS (U.S.) NRSC
Chair Elect, IEEE CQR (International)
Member, (U.S.) NCS/NCC
Director, Network Reliability
Lucent Technologies
Chairman Powell, Chairman Crowe, Members of the Council, and of the public:
On the morning of September 11, cell phones were used by countless Americans in their usual ways . . .
And then evil terrorists emerged to make their dark mark on human history.
During those same moments, wireless communications were used
- by brave hostages in the skies to report the hijacking of their planes,
- then, by expectant victims to speak their last “GOOD BYE” and “I LOVE YOU”,
- and then, by rescue teams as they rushed to bring aid.
Wireless devices played a vital role on September 11 because they:
- are popular
- are easy to operate
- are one of the few items carried everywhere by their users, and because they
can still function when severe damage is done to surrounding infrastructure.
That night, news reports stated that cell phones were being used to call for help from the rubble.

2. Mission The Wireless Emergency Response Team
was established on the night of September 11, 2001
to provide coordinated wireless industry mutual aid support
for Search and Rescue efforts
at the World Trade Center rubble.
The vision for a coordinated industry emergency response was instantly conceived.
In the following hours and days, an unprecedented wireless communications industry mutual-aid effort sprang into action to support Search and Rescue efforts at the World Trade Center disaster site.
In the 4 weeks since completing its operation, the Team has written a Final Report – Copies of which are presented to Council members this morning.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

3. U.S. Emergency Response Functions
The vision for a coordinated industry emergency response was instantly conceived.
In the following hours and days, an unprecedented wireless communications industry mutual-aid effort sprang into action to support Search and Rescue efforts at the World Trade Center disaster site.
In the 4 weeks since completing its operation, the Team has written a Final Report – Copies of which are presented to Council members this morning.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

4. WERT Capabilities and Approach Key Learnings & Recommendations
Outline
WERT Mission
WERT Statistics
WERT Capabilities and Approach
Key Learnings & Recommendations
Final Report
Next Steps
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

5. Summary Statistics No survivors were found
33 organizations participated
250+ industry subject matter experts participated
An additional ~500 volunteers staffed the Public Call Center
134 Key Learnings
23 Recommendations
5,039 calls received in the WERT Public Call Center
120 reports of a missing person’s use of a cell phone or pager from the rubble
No trapped survivors were found. And this was very disappointing to team members.
However, the WERT response to the September 11 crisis demonstrated that wireless communications can be a highly valuable resource for future Search and Rescue needs. We will give you a glimpse of this here this morning. Summary statistics for the Team’s effort include:
33 organizations & over 250 industry subject matter experts participated
An additional 500 volunteers staffed the WERT Public Call Center
The Team documented 134 Key Learnings & 23 Recommendations
Over 5 thousand calls were received at the Public Call Center
and the Team handled 120 reports of a missing person’s use of a cell phone or pager from the rubble
The reports of a missing person’s attempt to communicate from the rubble were escalated as top priority when they came in. Research and analysis for these cases resulted in final dispositions that included:
the person is safe and away from the site,
the report is a false alarm, and
the cell phone was being used outside of the Ground Zero area.
In addition, the Team’s analysis was able to provide authorities with correct information related to inaccurate media reports.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

6. Participating Organizations
Arch Wireless
Argonne National Labratory
AT&T
AT&T Wireless
BellSouth
CTIA
Cingular Interactive
EDO Corporation
Ericsson
FCC
Lucent Technologies
Metrocall
Motorola
NCS
NCC
NRSC
NRIC
Nextel
NYPD
NYC Mayor’s Office
Nortel Networks
PCIA
SkyTel
Sprint PCS
Telcordia Technologies
TruePosition
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Marshals Service, ESU
U.S. Secret Service
Verizon
Verizon Wireless
VoiceStream
Wheat International
The Wireless Emergency Response Team was formed from service provider and equipment supplier companies, industry bodies, government authorities and emergency response agencies. All of the major cellular and 2-way pager service providers with coverage in New York City participated.
Individuals are listed by name in the Final Report.
The commitment of these individuals was beyond anything I expected when I first began (this effort) – reaching out to companies to build the mutual aid team:
Some put their personal safety at risk at the site,
Many worked beyond exhaustion,
maintaining a constant, extremely high level of intensity until the last, thinnest thread of hope was gone.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

7. Locations of Operation
Wireless Emergency Response Team Locations
The Wireless Emergency Response Team operated out of 16 states.
I established the Coordination Command Center in my virtual office in Pennsylvania
Shortly, you will be hearing from Sub Team leaders who operated out of another 3 states:
From Washington State: Russ Waughman, A Project Lead with AT&T Wireless,
From Georgia, Bill Smith, President of Interconnection Services, and CTO, of BellSouth, - Bill has been active in previous Councils,
And, From the New York City Ground Zero site, Gee Rittenhouse, Director of Wireless Research, also at Lucent.
Coordination Command Center
Network Surveillance & Analysis
Public Call Center
Service Provider Intelligence
Ground Zero Locating
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

8. WERT Capabilities WERT Capabilities, Functions, Approach
Coordination Command Center
Network Surveillance & Analysis
Service Provider Intelligence
Public Call Center
Ground Zero Locating
Here is an outline for the reminder of our presentation. We will move fast through the 5 WERT Sub Teams – touching briefly on the Approach, Key Learnings, and Recommendations.
I will begin with the Coordination Command Center
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

9. Approach Mission of the Coordination Command Center was to
Provide leadership for the entire team
Coordinate with authorities
Manage media interfaces
Facilitate intra-team communications
Mission of the Network Surveillance & Analysis Sub Team was to
Look for any activity on call center list.
Registration, Calls, or Text Messaging activity,
Proactively screen 911 calls for false alarms.
Identify cell site of 911 call.
Look at call and registration history.
The Mission of the Coordination Command Center was to The Command Center provided leadership for the entire team
- from establishing the team as an entity to taking quick, decisive actions on issues facing the other sub teams, so that they could focus on executing their functions
The Command Center coordinated with authorities
this included interfacing with the NCS/NCC, FEMA,
- various NYC authorities, including the 911 Command Center,
- and the U.S. Marshals and Secret Service agencies, as well as others
The Command Center managed media interfaces
primarily to push an 800 number out to the public
And the Command Center facilitated intra-team communications
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

10. Approach (continued)
Mission of the Service Provider Intelligence Sub Team
provide rapid response database lookup information: associating service provider names, switch addresses, and tandem homing arrangement information with cellular phone numbers
The Mission of the Coordination Command Center was to The Command Center provided leadership for the entire team
- from establishing the team as an entity to taking quick, decisive actions on issues facing the other sub teams, so that they could focus on executing their functions
The Command Center coordinated with authorities
this included interfacing with the NCS/NCC, FEMA,
- various NYC authorities, including the 911 Command Center,
- and the U.S. Marshals and Secret Service agencies, as well as others
The Command Center managed media interfaces
primarily to push an 800 number out to the public
And the Command Center facilitated intra-team communications
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

11. Approach (continued) Mission of the Public Call Center was to
Off load calls from 911 command center and other government entities
Receive calls and collect information about potentially trapped survivors
Obtain cell and pager numbers for missing persons
The Mission of the Ground Zero Locating Sub Team is to . . .
aid and assist in the location of and communication with trapped survivors who possess a variety of wireless personal equipment. There is a high probability that victims will have access to some sort of wireless device (e.g. phone, pager, FOB, etc.). This provides a unique opportunity for passive remote location and establishing a wireless link for remote communication
The Mission of the Coordination Command Center was to The Command Center provided leadership for the entire team
- from establishing the team as an entity to taking quick, decisive actions on issues facing the other sub teams, so that they could focus on executing their functions
The Command Center coordinated with authorities
this included interfacing with the NCS/NCC, FEMA,
- various NYC authorities, including the 911 Command Center,
- and the U.S. Marshals and Secret Service agencies, as well as others
The Command Center managed media interfaces
primarily to push an 800 number out to the public
And the Command Center facilitated intra-team communications
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

12. Key Learnings - Examples
What Worked Well
high commitment of professionals/organizations in mutual aid
pre-established federal coordination function of NCC
ability to conduct rapid research
Adapted fraud, billing and trouble shooting tools to quickly screen call center list and 911 calls.
Provided guidelines via text messages for preserving battery life
Provide extended network coverage into debris field using RF. repeaters, autonomous basestations, and basestation simulators.
Key Learnings are broken into 3 categories.
First, What Worked Well
A high commitment of professionals and their organizations to providing mutual aid for a national crisis
The pre-established federal coordination function of the NCC made this effort possible
And, because we had engaged some of the industry’s leading wireless communications scientists, we had the ability to conduct rapid research when new technical challenges were faced
Areas for Improvement include
Having a pre-arranged legal framework
Having pre-defined processes, definitions and templates would greatly improve intra-team communications
Also, we need to have access to broad language translation capabilities
Further Investigation is needed in the areas of . .
Guidelines for public safety personnel in communicating with a trapped survivor between detection and location
Special instructions for 911 center handling of wireless callers , and
Making emergency response teams aware of the WERT capabilities
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

13. Key Learnings - Examples
Areas for Improvement and Further Investigation
pre-defined processes, definitions and templates
broad language translation capabilities
guidelines for communication with a trapped survivor between detection and location
special instructions for 911 centers for handling wireless callers
Handling 911 calls from a 3rd party
Identifying Search and Rescue mobile phones
Use of text messaging to communicate with a victim
Would the techniques learned work in another disaster scenario
The possible addition of an emergency mode for mobile equipment with extreme low-power and location beacons
Key Learnings are broken into 3 categories.
First, What Worked Well
A high commitment of professionals and their organizations to providing mutual aid for a national crisis
The pre-established federal coordination function of the NCC made this effort possible
And, because we had engaged some of the industry’s leading wireless communications scientists, we had the ability to conduct rapid research when new technical challenges were faced
Areas for Improvement include
Having a pre-arranged legal framework
Having pre-defined processes, definitions and templates would greatly improve intra-team communications
Also, we need to have access to broad language translation capabilities
Further Investigation is needed in the areas of . .
Guidelines for public safety personnel in communicating with a trapped survivor between detection and location
Special instructions for 911 center handling of wireless callers , and
Making emergency response teams aware of the WERT capabilities
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

14. Recommendations: Coordination Command Center
Recommendation CCC-1
The WERT Coordination Command Center 44 Key Learnings should be reviewed by the larger wireless communications industry for inclusion in industry Best Practices.
Recommendation CCC-2
The NCS / NCC, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should conduct an annual test in which the WERT capability is tested. The test should consist of a simulated condition that adequately exercises WERT procedural and technical capabilities. The test should include a measurement for the effectiveness of the limitations of directing a Ground Zero team in order to better understand the technical capabilities available.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

15. Recommendations: Coordination Command Center
Recommendation CCC-3
Wireless Service Providers should review existing NRIC Network Reliability Best Practices, with a particular emphasis on those Best Practices related to Security, Power, Essential Services, Emergency Preparedness, and Disaster Recovery.
Recommendation CCC-4
The WERT should determine the most appropriate oversight of its operation. This oversight should ensure appropriate support and cooperation so that its Key Learnings and Recommendations can be properly addressed.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

16. Recommendations: Network Surveillance & Analysis
Recommendation NSA-1
The WERT Network Surveillance and Analysis Sub Team’s 26 Key Learnings should be reviewed by the larger wireless communications industry for inclusion in industry Best Practices.
Recommendation NSA-2
Establish WERT as a permanent entity, with contact names and reach numbers of all carriers.
Recommendation NSA-3
Industry associations should establish Best Practice procedures for mutual aid Search and Rescue efforts. This information should be documented and distributed to all carriers.
Recommendation NSA-4
The WERT should work with the industry to make information available that can be used to train Search and Rescue teams on the use of several communications technologies. For example, the cellular system could be overloaded or incapacitated, but data networks could have spare capacity.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

17. Recommendations: Network Surveillance & Analysis
Recommendation NSA-5
The wireless industry should consider processes for routing SMS and pages addressed to With the increased usage of text messages, the time has come to determine how these messages should be routed to a PSAP in the event of an emergency. Clarification is needed for what happens to messages sent to 911.
Recommendation NSA-6
The WERT Network and Surveillance and Analysis Sub Team should periodically rehearse the execution of its function. This exercise should include coordination with the other WERT functions, and directing the Ground Zero Sub Team in their function.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

18. Recommendations: Network Surveillance & Analysis
Recommendation NSA-7
The WERT needs to consider how to prepare for disaster situations with significantly different characteristics. One of the successes of the Network Surveillance and Analysis effort in the World Trade Center scenario was identifying false alarms. However the WERT needs to review lessons learned and the WERT processes for a disaster with significantly different geographic characteristics. For example where the disaster region is over several square miles, and the wireless infrastructure of transmitters, receivers (cell sites) and switches is compromised. Examples include Los Angeles Northridge earthquake, or Florida’s Hurricane Andrew. Identifying false alarms may require different techniques.
Recommendation NSA-8
National carriers should review the techniques and tools developed during this disaster to see if additional development is needed on vendors’ equipment.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

19. Recommendations: Service Provider Intelligence
Recommendation SPI-1
The WERT Service Provider Intelligence Sub Team’s 8 Key Learnings should be reviewed by the larger wireless communications industry for inclusion in industry Best Practices.
Recommendation SPI-2
The wireless industry should investigate how to make accurate determinations of controlling wireless carriers in a wireless number portability environment (planned for November 2002).
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

20. Recommendations: Public Call Center
Recommendation PCC-1
The WERT Public Call Center 30 Key Learnings should be reviewed by the larger communications industry for inclusion in industry Best Practices.
Recommendation PCC-2
Major communications companies should have a contingency plan to offer a public call center for a mutual aid national crisis.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

21. Recommendations: Ground Zero Locating
Recommendation GZL-1
The WERT Ground Zero Locating Sub Team’s 26 Key Learnings should be reviewed by the larger wireless communications industry and emergency response entities for inclusion in Best Practices.
Recommendation GZL-2
In future wireless emergency responses, the Ground Zero Locating Sub Team, in coordination with the Coordination Command Center, should use the following 7 Step On-Site Deployment Strategy:
On-Site Deployment Strategy:
a. Identify local emergency contacts at the disaster site with which to coordinate efforts.
b. Brief local officials on RF detection capabilities, strategy and plan.
c. Obtain approval from local officials and agree upon deployment plan.
d. If service exists, deploy repeaters with antennas deployed into the wreckage to extend the existing wireless service as far as possible to minimize the path loss in both the uplink and downlink direction between the wireless communication device and the network.
e. Get service provider permission to radiate on at least one clear channel in their spectrum for emergency purposes regardless of whether there is coverage up or not. (It is necessary for service providers to free up at least one emergency channel that is on the local PRL for rescue efforts.)
f. Deploy highly portable, stand-alone technology-specific microcells at the disaster site that are capable of mobile-to-mobile calls. Deploy antennas as far into the wreckage as possible to maximize RF coverage. (Note: these miniature basestations will be independent of the existing network with the exception that they will use the channels that have been cleared by the service providers.)
g. For technologies where portable basestations with mobile-to-mobile calls are not available, deploy sniffing equipment with the appropriate band-specific filters and LNAs for uplink gain to detect any RF signal activity coming from the wreckage.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

22. Recommendations: Ground Zero Locating
Recommendation GZL-3
The wireless communications industry should consider how mobile phones and pagers could be placed in an emergency mode that would facilitate location of survivors. Operation in this mode should maximize chances of locating survivors while minimizing power consumption.
Recommendation GZL-4
FEMA should recognize the WERT as a legitimate and valuable capability to be fully utilized, when appropriate.
Recommendation GZL-5
State and Local governments should recognize and utilize WERT for smaller emergencies, when appropriate.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

23. Recommendations: Ground Zero Locating
Recommendation GZL-6
The WERT should establish a comprehensive list of appropriate authorities and procedures for interaction with federal, state and local government agencies.
Recommendation GZL-7
The WERT should work with the NCS/NCC and FEMA to conduct periodic, formal test and trials in areas targeted for demolition to further explore RF detection of mobiles placed within these structures before demolition.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

24. Final Report Available to Public: www.bell-labs.com/wireless/wert
Presented to FCC Chairman Michael Powell and FCC-Chartered Network Reliability & Interoperability Council (NRIC) V. October 30, 2001
Systematically reviews Key Learnings
What Worked Well
Areas for Improvement
Areas Requiring Further Investigation
Presents Recommendations
The vision for a coordinated industry emergency response was instantly conceived.
In the following hours and days, an unprecedented wireless communications industry mutual-aid effort sprang into action to support Search and Rescue efforts at the World Trade Center disaster site.
In the 4 weeks since completing its operation, the Team has written a Final Report – Copies of which are presented to Council members this morning.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

25. Conclusion: Value Added
Keep rescue teams from danger by quickly discrediting false reports
Confirming as safe, individuals thought to be missing
Helping family members achieve closure
Assuring the public - both here and abroad - that all known technological approaches are being used to listen for any cellular or pager communication being sent
Key Learnings and Recommendations in the WERT Final Report being studied so that this capability can be enhanced and optimized
Thank you Russ, Bill, and Gee.
In conclusion, the Wireless Emergency Response Team added value by
Keeping rescue teams from danger by quickly discrediting false reports
By Confirming as safe, individuals thought to be missing
By Helping family members achieve closure
By Assuring the public - both here and abroad - that all known technological approaches were being used to listen for any cellular or pager communication being sent from the rubble.
And by Documenting Key Learnings and Recommendations in the WERT Final Report - so that this capability can be enhanced and optimized
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER

26. Next Steps Assess responses to Final Report from:
government authorities
emergency response agencies
industry fora / associations, and
the public
Coordinate proper follow-up for the Key Learnings and Recommendations
Determine appropriate oversight for the WERT capability
WERT available on an ongoing basis (Salt Lake City Olympic Games, etc.)
The Wireless Emergency Response Team is available as a mutual aid capability going forward. But there are some questions that need to be addressed.
Our Final Report is available, and is now posted at the NRIC web site. We are now awaiting responses; including those from stakeholders not directly involved in this 9-11 effort.
The Team intends to ensure follow-up for its Key Learnings and Recommendations.
And finally, appropriate oversight for the capability needs to be defined.
The Wireless Emergency Response Team believes that the capability it has developed, and intends to enhance, can be used in the future to save lives in a massive disaster.
May God forbid that it ever be needed again.
Mr. Chairman, the panel would like to answer any questions the Council may have.
11/27/2018
K. F. RAUSCHER