In addition, East Jefferson now has its communications lines connected to three separate BellSouth Corp. access points to provide triple redundancy. It has also installed a satellite connection, and Chenoweth said he is continuing to look at ways to strengthen communications, such as possibly using carriers that don't route lines through local connections.

"What we're trying to do is create a situation here where we have five or six ways we can communicate instead of just a couple," he said. "That was just a huge lesson, I think, for just about anybody out here."

Children's Hospital in New Orleans also has installed satellite communications capabilities since Katrina, and it has sunk a well to boost its water supply, said Mike McSweeney, the hospital's IT manager.

In many cases, technology issues will be resolved long before the city itself is fully rebuilt. For the region as a whole, the IT managers interviewed last week generally talked in terms of five-year recovery time frame. But many said they're uncertain what New Orleans will look like in the years ahead.

"I think there is going to be a lot of change in the city," said McSweeney, who added that things are still difficult for people in the city. "It is tense, and a lot of people are frustrated with insurance companies," he said. "That has been so stressful, for so many people."