U.S. recommends commercial technologies for communication interoperability
While the debate on emergency communication interoperability continues, the U.S. Commerce Department recommends that the federal, state, and local public safety community consider using commercial technologies
A debate has been going on for a while on how best to secure communication interoperability among first response and emergency units during a crisis. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has now weighed in on the topic, and in a report released late last week encourages the federal, state, and local public safety community to consider using commercial technologies to satisfy broadband interoperable communications among first responders. The report also recommends that agencies consider commercial broadband services, when feasible.
NTIA’s report, “A Public Safety Sharing Demonstration,”analyzed the District of Columbia’s Wireless Accelerated Responder Network (WARN). The WARN pilot is a city-wide broadband wireless public safety network which relies on commercial broadband technology for remote surveillance, chemical and biological detection, and other emergency-related services. The WARN has been used by more than a dozen federal, District, and local agencies during security-intensive events such as the presidential inauguration, International Monetary Fund annual meeting (and accompanying mass demonstrations), and Fourth of July celebrations. The system was judged robust enough to provide the agencies access to critical data.
“Our nation’s Capital has the potential to be the template for satisfying the nation’s public safety broadband needs,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. “By leveraging state, local and federal resources and using readily available commercial technology, the WARN system delivers cutting-edge technology to first responders.”
The report meets part of the president’s 21st Century Spectrum Policy Initiative for improving management of the nation’s airwaves, and it addresses planning, usage, and sharing of spectrum, and the feasibility of using commercial services to meet the increasingly complex, public safety, wireless, broadband communications needs.
Communication interoperability is big business. Later this year NTIA will award $1 billion in grants to assist public safety agencies in the acquisition of, deployment of, or training for the use of interoperable communications systems. The funding may be used by state and local public safety officials in using the report’s recommended commercial technologies and broadband services in satisfying their own public safety needs.
