, a microphone, and either a PictureTel 760 or Polycom ViewStation linked by FEMA's private WAN or ISDN. Conferences run at speeds of up to 384 Kbps and provide video at a rate of 30 fps. FEMA uses PictureTel Prism and Montage conferencing servers running Microsoft Windows NT linked to an Oracle 8i database. Duke Power Company, in North Carolina, leverages video to enable communication between emergency-response personnel. At two of its three nuclear power plants, Duke provides a network of desktop video systems that instantly allow face-to-face communication. At two plants (that generate more than half of the electricity it Video Communication Applications supplies) Duke relies on video communication to improve responsiveness and, therefore, its NRC ratings. Systems in each plant's technical support center link two other systems in each plant's operations support center. Duke uses desktop systems for voice and video dialers, programmable buttons, shared whiteboard, and tones to alert users to incoming calls. Each system connects to the power company's fiber backbone network with an Incite Multimedia Hub that integrates voice, video, and data. Duke dedicates 384 Kbps of the network to videoconferencing, and equips each of the three sites with server software to manage the desktop (the two extras provide redundancy). When an event occurs, each of the 800 members of the Emergency Response Organization reports to his station. In seconds, the video communication systems link the two support centers. A technician at the technical support center evaluates the problem and collaborates online with a user at the operations support center for resolution. The TSC also calls the video communication unit at the Charlotte facility to inform outside agencies that decide whether to alert communities. On July 16, 2004, video communication and the Freedom Calls Foundation enabled Army Specialist, Joshua Strickland to join his wife Dorothy, in Valdosta, Georgia, in celebrating his daughter Shelby's first birthday while he was stati