Safety Officials Want Interoperability to Remain a Concern
Interoperable communications needs national focus, plus an outlay of billions, safety personnel can communicate in emergencies, officials first responder told a Wed. hearing by the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Emergency Preparedness, Science & Technology Subcommittee.
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States have spent $270 million-plus on interoperable 800 MHz radios -- an outlay that, extrapolated nationally, would be $10 billion, said Tim Bradley, N.C. senior deputy fire commissioner. “There are over 75,000 individual radios in use in North Carolina by first responders, yet county to county, discipline to discipline, it is extremely fragmented,” he said. “I'm sure it mirrors the national trend.” More than communications is at stake in interoperability, which also involves common incident management systems and terminology, common response policy and procedures, standardized training and compatible equipment, Bradley said.
Federal grants should come with “strings” to avoid waste, Trooper Casey Perry of the Wis. State Patrol said: “States must be held accountable for creating a communications network… for EMS, fire, law enforcement and emergency government which will serve their entire state, allowing county and municipal governments full access.”
The hurricanes 2005 showed interoperable communications systems must include electric, gas and water utilities, William Moroney, pres, of the United Telecom Council said: “Government oversight of emergency preparedness and interoperability must mandate inclusion of the entire emergency response community in federal policy and planning to overcome local biases and coordinate what are now only piecemeal efforts.”
In some areas, utilities and safety agencies share 800 MHz systems, Moroney said. In Gainesville, Fla., Gainesville Regional Utilities runs a non-profit, shared 800 MHz system that local safety agencies use as low-cost subscribers, he said. In the Philadelphia area, many local utilities and public safety agencies share a radio system the local govt. owns, he said.
Subcommittee Chmn. Reichert (R-Wash.), a former police officer, said he would hold similar hearings for state and local govt. officials and federal officials. He also plans to take testimony from equipment makers. “My single greatest priority as a legislator and as a former cop with 33 years of experience is making sure we address the state of operability and interoperability among the communication systems that our nation’s law enforcement, fire service and emergency medical services personnel rely on,” he said.