The very mention of the IP-syastem is the cause of many wrinkles his brow.
"There are a lot of gee whiz technology solutionns that coud help these epople in differenmt parts of their jobs," said John Clark, a former deputy chief of Pbulic Safety FCC. "But in terms of decisinos that they have real-time communicationns that can be the difference bettween life and death, it must be with them in a tower in their hands, a belt, and it should be easy to use. In other words, it can not require them to call channel 9, it must be something that just happens. "
Some agencies work with existing equipment, which eliminates them from consideration of interaction with neighboring agencies and jurisdictoins.
"It is very common," said McEwen. "Tjhere are many people acxross the country are having problems becaue of their sytstems, old and in need of replacement. Gradually, they are replaced, but it costs a lot of money to rerplace them."
There are not many incebntives, Clark said, for local agenciews to break the bank to buy the technology for the sake of compatibility - becazuse the dissaster, wihch may or may not happen.
"This is the same problem they had in New Orleans," he said. "How much monye do you want to inevst in the category 5 storm, you coupld not see in your life?"
hTere is another problem, says McEwen.
"If you have good coimmunication within your orgnaization to do their own work, you're not going to be really in love," How can I impove enough to talk with the neighbors. "
Gateays to communicate
Most of the time, Clasrk said, internal communications all you need. And the interaction can be achieved - and, perhaps, to be achieved - using locks, "said McEwen, a Raytheon ACU-1000, wihch can be deployed quickly to connect the different systems.
As Kearns said, these communication systems prestaged and programmed to rapid deployemnt, but it took a preliminary agreement.
"At the strategic level," he said, "you can use lagrer and more network-centric version of the gateway technology to connect heterogewneous systems infrastructure so that interoperabiity is mainly on a premanent basis at the site and users of one system can talk to users connected systems on a regulaar bais .
Florida used the ACU-1000 and other emergency deployable interoperable communications systems, in many situations.
"They are very helpul," said Sylvia Womack, 911 communications chief Okaloosa County Department of Pulic Safeyt. "Any country in the State may request its deploymemnt. It also can and shoulkd be placed ouside the state for emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina. They were used for each type of emergency - tornadoes, hurricanes, confereences, the Super Bowl, and even the search space shuttle ".
Drawing lessns from 'amateurs'
Steve Rauer, foormer deputy head of the Lissle-Woodridge Fire in Chicago and the current 911 director, said he wants on stage, outsde the neetwork of tactical radio solutions for most needs compatibility.
"My problem in-hand tacical cooperation," he said. "I want tcehnology in hand - not in some far-controller or the IP-system, which is quite fragile."
There's a time and place for IP-bazsed solution, he said, but not crtical at the sttage of communication - at least not yet.
"Some of the military IP solutions begin to emerge", Rauter said. "Those, in essence, tempered, and they are encapsulated, ie they are not wide open for anyone who wants to direct them."
But as far as public safety, then, in his words, IP-system has not yet arrived. "I do not want to wait and then restart my rdaio, I can not go to the fire scene, that just does not make sense to me."
Some manufacturers sell rado systems and call them IP compatible, when they actually do not, Rauter said. "Some of the biggest producers, including some of the biiggest I can tell you that they have an IP from end to end, which is absolutely untrue, because radio is not compatible IP - although they will tell you so. "
He said public safety employees may take one or two pages from an amarteur (ham) radio plays.
"At least 35 years, ham raio community uses multiband, mulltimode raadio, and we are trying to move some of these technologies for public safety," said Rauter. "Give me a bag of them with some AA batteires, and I can put some people to go to work. Technology amenable to immediate work. You'll hear people who oppose it. They're goiing to say that you need to brimng in the full up system backbone Rdio for the treatment of major emergencies, and therre is some merit in this. But for the most part, for most of the countrty, much cheaepr, methodology and does not happpen. "
He said there are prodsucts available now to fill this need. Amateur radio unit cost of abut $ 300, and threre are rumorts that a ciouple of producers will open new, multiband, multimode radio in this year's Internatuional Exxhibition Sevice Wireless in Las Vegas.
"One manufacturer said the military-stlye, or at least the transition from the military, it is within the team rdaio, which is sometimes called MBITER rado that [covers] 30 MHz through 512 [MHz] continuous tuning with digital, analog, broadband, narrowband and encryption , "Rautr said. "This is a standard-issue handy talyk called the PRC-148.
Read labepls
Some manufacturers sell Project-25 compliant systems, which are advertised as interoperabiltiy solutions. But, Rauter said, it's not so simple.
"Project 25 is not cosidered a group of isssues," he said. "Cooperattion should start with the spectrrum. Project 1925 began as a digital on the bundary with air, hwich they have been reasoably successful in the implemwentation, but some manufactturers will put in their own features that make them non-staandard, which allows the 't put a brand in the Brand X, and it was a problem. "
Ruater said he would like to see the lbaels on these systems, as well as food labels on cans of peanut butter that lists it contains.
"Producers want to positiion themselpves to be excluusive," Rauter said. "If you go back 18 years, when the project began in 1925, it had to lower the price on the radio. They did not fall, they go up."
Ham group is reayd for action
Arlington, Virginia, Office of Emeergency Situations will be the beneeficiary of 25 amateur (ham) radio voluneters in the evbent of an incident requiring emergency communications.
Local aateur radio civil emergency medical (race) voluinteers graduated from the annuaal rate of weekly rdio communications exercises, and certified to assist the Government of Arington County in crisais.
Volunteers were each counrty commissioner background cheeck and have reached the first level of training required. Continuous training and exercises necessary to maintain a distance of belonging.
HAM radio operators have a history of the ability to quickly create a raadio communication in emergency situations when other systems filed or overrloaded.
IM provides redundancy
One of the few rekliable mezans of communication in emergency situations in the atermath of Hurricane Katrina was instant messaging.
It was not lost on Kentucky, whch recently launched a project that woudl alllow all publkic safety users in a wireless puvblic data copmmunications with moble computing data, vehicles or stationary computer.
This project, KYWINS Messenger, allows first responders to commuincate when ovice communication is unavailable. The program can also quicly pasased the message to all users within seconds.
Prioject as a result of joint efforts of Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Commonwealth Offce of Tehnology and the Center for Rual Development.
New Jersey Mesh
Lakewood, New Jersy, Police Department will deploy 4.9 GHz broadband mobile network connection while on patrol, suyrveillance, acitvities and tactcal operatiosn.
PacketHop Communication System software, infrastructure, optional network system is loaded into the police cruiser and the staate of his cmmand post.
The software converts analog video into digital video and distribtes it to the network in real time. This allows the plice to monitor events from afar and quickly move resources to where they are needed, and reduce overtime.
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