Achieving interoperability among public safety communications systems is “an ongoing...
Achieving interoperability among public safety communications systems is “an ongoing issue and problem” that “continues to evolve” with technology, said Amanda Hilliard, a branch chief at the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) under the Homeland Security Department. “As soon as…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
we declare it done and stop investing the resources, we potentially lose all the great work that’s been done so far,” she said Wednesday at the FOSE conference. OEC is working with the FCC and the Commerce and Justice departments to implement spectrum legislation, Hilliard said. OEC has a coordinating role on the interoperability board at the FCC, which aims to finish technical requirements by a May deadline, she said. NTIA plans by August to launch the First Responder Network Authority to govern the network, as well as a grant program for state and local implementation, she said. Another DHS group, the National Communications System, is also working on implementation of the spectrum legislation, said Michael Echolson, NCS chief of government-industry planning. A scoping group within the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee is “looking at recommendations to the president” to address areas not covered in the spectrum legislation, he said.