Quoteworthy

“There isn't anyone in Nextel that has a title in charge of national disaster. But on Tuesday (Sept. 11), Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, you would have thought that everyone had that title.”
— Audrey Schaefer, Nextel spokesperson

“For DoD, spectrum access is not a matter of a missed cell-phone call, but whether a weapon reaches its target or a space system warns of impending attack.”
— Badri Younes, Defense Department director of spectrum management

“I can't imagine that these events won't add encouragement to everything that relates to public safety, to the part that 911 plays in that and wireless 911.”
— Jim Goerke, NENA wireless implementation director

“Most of the carriers have security high on their minds. But going that extra mile probably could use some economic incentives from the government.”
— Dave Daniels, retired AirTouch fraud prevention director

“The industry has gotten a boost, especially with all the news reports about how important wireless phones were during the tragedy. We're not hearing about all the safety issues.”
— Michael Doherty, Ovum senior wireless analyst

“This (E-911) was one of the very few cases where a mandate didn't have penalties attached to it. I think it was the FCC trying to appeal to the more noble side of the carriers, and it obviously failed.”
— Roger Entner, Yankee Group program manager, wireless mobile services

“There will be many business owners and companies that approach their IT budgets with caution right now … waiting to see just what's going to happen.”
— John Challenger, Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO

“This situation speaks to the value of our service. It's interesting to note that in one of the most competitive industries, (carriers and vendors) have banded together to make sure we can restore service to the affected areas, with the capacity to manage calls.”
— Kim Thompson, VoiceStream spokesperson

“(Safety) outweighs all frivolous usage and truly is the redeeming value of the cell phone.”
— Roger Entner, Yankee Group program manager, wireless mobile services

“This is when telecom engineers and technicians really show our mettle. These events show the world that the telecom industry is there to support the country and its population.”
— Kevin Haynes, Cingular Wireless executive director