Given recent events--the Boston Marathon bombings and the huge fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas--the editors thought it would be interesting to highlight the recent efforts by NIST and others to improve the communications technology used by emergency responders, a huge problem during the response for 9/11.
--Editors

Radio communications can be unreliable in underground tunnels and other large, complicated structures, posing a safety hazard for emergency responders. New tests of wireless emergency safety equipment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have defined the challenges more precisely and suggest how emergency communications might be improved.

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