What 9/11 revealed about communication and what’s changed since

August 19, 2026

Key points

On September 11, 2001, first responders rushed to the World Trade Center as two hijacked planes struck the North and South Towers. Police, firefighters and emergency crews worked nonstop in the hours, days and weeks that followed. Coordinating communications quickly became challenging, if not impossible.

In the years since, while we continue to honor and remember those we lost, the public safety community has also worked to strengthen how America responds, so no responder is left without the ability to communicate in the moments that matter most.

An otherwise normal day

The morning of 9/11 started like any other. Routine calls. Familiar rhythms. But within minutes, everything changed.

As responders from New York City and surrounding communities poured into Lower Manhattan, the focus was on rescue operations. But the reality quickly became very clear; we weren’t on the same page.

Within the emergency response community, conversations shifted to discuss what needed to change with communication infrastructure.

From disconnected response to coordinated action

I was a captain with the Nutley NJ Fire Department on 9/11. That day, there was a lot of self-deployment and agencies coming in from multiple states, especially New Jersey. One of our greatest challenges was simple: no one could communicate across the different [radio] systems each agency carried.

Eventually, we had to rely on a relic of a system just to try to create a single channel of communication.

In 1966, we built a county dispatch system in Essex County, New Jersey. It wasn’t designed for something of this scale, but we brought it online and kept it running however we could—even using fans to keep the equipment from overheating. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave us one critical thing: a shared channel.

That experience made one thing clear: it was possible to have responders from different agencies communicate in one place, but we needed something far more reliable, scalable and dedicated to public safety.

What changed after 9/11

After 9/11, leaders across public safety pushed for something better: a secure, nationwide communications network built specifically for first responders. That effort led to the creation of the First Responder Network Authority in 2012, and, ultimately, to the nationwide public safety broadband network that exists today: FirstNet, Built with AT&T.

The goal wasn’t just better technology. It was making sure that when responders arrive at the same incident, they can share information, coordinate in near-real time, and operate as one team. And today, FirstNet supports about 8.2 million connections1 across nearly 3 million square miles of urban, suburban, rural and Tribal areas. It’s helping public safety agencies stay connected whenever and wherever they’re called to respond.

Seeing the difference in real events

Let me share a story that shows how FirstNet has changed communication for public safety agencies. Let’s fast-forward to 2020.

During the COVID pandemic in New York City, 300 ambulances arrived from around the country to help. The scale was significant—and so was the challenge. Just as we had seen on 9/11, those outside agencies could not easily communicate with the city’s systems. But this time, the outcome was different. We built a specialized dispatch center, activated 300 new devices and gave every ambulance LTE connectivity so each unit could communicate with dispatch. Within days, those crews were operating as if they had always been part of the city’s response.

For me, that moment showed how far public safety communications had come—from responders improvising to be heard on 9/11 to hundreds of ambulances connecting and coordinating almost immediately nearly two decades later.

By leveraging newer solutions, we were able to get every unit connected so they could easily coordinate with other teams. That’s the difference. Not just having communication but having it work when it matters most.

A shared experience across public safety

On 9/11, others in the public safety community saw similar communication challenges that day.

Rick Evans, Lead Channel Marketing Manager at AT&T, is also a former firefighter and EMT who was stationed in central New Jersey on September 11th. Though not deployed to Ground Zero, Rick remembers how communication failures extended beyond New York City.

“When the towers went down, that pretty much knocked out communication in New York,” he said, referencing the cellular transmission tower that was located atop the North Tower. “With us being about an hour away, we had people trying to get ahold of people in New York, trying to make back-to-back calls and the circuits got tied up.”

Like many who were there or supported the response, Rick has seen how far communication has come, and how critical it is to keep improving it.

Moving forward, together

Communication gaps can still happen in public safety. But much has changed since 9/11.

Today, responders have access to real-time data, mobile tools and networks designed to help them stay connected across agencies and jurisdictions. More importantly, there is a shared understanding of how vital that connection is.

The lessons from 9/11 shaped not just better technology, but how the public safety community prepares, communicates, and works together. Because when responders answer the call, communication shouldn’t be a question, it should be a given.