areas), remained on the screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities. It shows the WTC at the moment power cut off to the WPIX transmitter, prior to the towers' collapse. During the September 11 attacks, WCBS-TV channel 2 and WXTV-TV channel 41 stayed on the air. Unlike most other major New York television stations, WCBS-TV maintained a full-powered backup transmitter at the Empire State Building after moving its main transmitter to the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The station was also simulcasted nationally on Viacom (which at the time owned CBS) cable network VH1 that day. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the station lent transmission time to the other stations who had lost their transmitters, until they found suitable backup equipment and locations. The Emergency Alert System was never activated in the terrorist attacks, as the extensive media coverage made it unnecessary. AT&T eliminated any costs for domestic calls originating from the New York City area (phones using area codes 212, 718, 917, 646, and 347) in the days following 9/11. Radio communications Radio communications during the September 11 attacks served a vital role in coordinating rescue efforts by New York Police Department, New York Fire Department, Port Authority Police Department, and emergency medical services. While radio communications were modified to address problems discovered after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, investigations into the radio communications during the September 11 attacks discovered that communication systems and protocols that distinguished each department was hampered by the lack of interoperability, damaged or failed network infrastructure during the attack, and overwhelmed by simultaneous communication between superiors and subordinates. Background A rough time line of the incident could include: 08:46 hrs.: American 11 crashes into the North Tower, a.k.a. 1 World Trade Center, (0 minutes elapsed time). 09:03 hrs.: United 175 crashes into the South Tower, a.k.a. 2 World Trade Center, (17 minutes elapsed time). 09:58 hrs.: South Tower, a.k.a. 2 World Trade Center collapses, (55 minutes after aircraft impact, 72 minutes elapsed time). 10:28 hrs.: North Tower, a.k.a. 1 World Trade Center collapses, (102 minutes elapsed time and post-impact). The scale of the incident was described in the National Commission report on the attacks as unprecedented. In roughly seventeen minutes from 8:46 to 9:03 am, over a thousand police, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) staff arrived at the scene.