There were 230 municipal fire department radio systems, and a manual mobile phone system for the health sector.
But the helicopters' observations were not heard on the fire department's radio system because it was carried on a different frequency.
One significant problem was that the fire knocked out the radio system, which had no backup power supply, leaving a crew member to call for help on his cellphone.
Port Authority officials say that fire officials have not sought to interview their managers who supervised the fire suppression and radio systems in the towers that day.
The budget agreement also cut millions from programs that allow local law enforcement agencies to upgrade technology, including for crime analysis and DNA processing, and millions more from a program designed to help police and fire departments streamline radio systems so they can communicate with each other in emergencies.
With a $5.6 million grant, it is developing a radio system so police, fire and other emergency responders throughout the region can communicate with one another.
The investment in the new technology is "in addition" to previous spending of £1.5m on a Tetra digital radio system for Northern Ireland's fire service and the investment of £700,000 on the upgrade of the command and control mobilising system, ProCAD.
Like many cities, San Francisco has relocated all police, fire and emergency medical communications onto a single radio system.
In Palm Beach County, Fla., the fire-and-rescue headquarters activated emergency tones over its radio system to honor the New York City firefighters who died two years ago, and the county's fire stations put their trucks on display.
Under the current state emergency radio system, large areas of the state are unreachable, and many police and fire departments cannot talk to each other.
