Most of U.S. Lags on Interoperable Communications
Many communities lag on interoperable communications, the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) said in its first national scorecard. Of 75 areas examined, only 6 got the highest DHS rating: San Diego; Columbus; Minneapolis-St. Paul; D.C.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Laramie County, Wyo. Chicago and other major metropolitan areas got much lower marks. DHS Secy. Michael Chertoff released the results Wed.
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The results show the need for a national strategy and a target date for nationwide first responder interoperable communications, the First Response Coalition said. “First responder communications are still compromised by inadequate planning, insufficient resources, and a lack of coordination,” the group said: “The findings in this DHS study and the dire warnings in many other government reports on interoperability failures cannot continue to go unheeded.”
Former NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher, co-author of a recent report urging dedication of 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum for advanced public safety communications, told us Chertoff’s involvement illustrates the White House emphasis on the issue.
“The Administration deserves credit because this issue is receiving the secretarial level of attention that it deserves,” Gallagher said: “Funding going forward should be targeted to the gaps and it should be driven to actual deployment of interoperable systems and not towards more consultative processes.” But Gallagher termed the scorecard too “voice-centric” and insufficiently attentive to affordable broadband solutions for first responders.