Officials test blimp-like aerostats for hosting wireless systems: "When a natural or manmade disaster puts ground-based communications out of commission, one alternative could come from the air. Officials tested the idea in September in Sandusky, Ohio, during a demonstration of the potential role aerostats might have in restoring emergency communications.

Proponents of aerostats – essentially tethered blimp-shaped balloons – say they can provide temporary wide-area communications when disaster wipes out fixed towers. The Sept. 24 consortium of federal agencies, universities and private companies tested communication payloads on a 75-foot long Army-owned aerostat."

Wireless policies under scrutiny under Obama advisers: "While it will be months before President-elect Barack Obama gets his administration in place and begins to roll out policy priorities, the selection of individuals focusing on high-tech agencies and their issues in the transition period suggests industry giants Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility could face greater scrutiny on open access, consolidation and other issues than they have the past eight years.

"Indeed, two academics assigned to the Federal Communications Commission transition review — Susan Crawford and Kevin Werbach — are vocal advocates of open networks in the wireless and broadband sectors. Both are influential bloggers on cutting-edge telecom and high-tech policy issues."

National Governors' Association to Help States with Public Safety Interoperability Governance: "Public safety communications is a critical issue facing state and local policymakers. States continue to struggle to ensure that first responders from various agencies, jurisdictions and levels of government can speak to each other during emergencies or at the scene of a disaster. In the 2007 NGA State Homeland Security Directors Survey, interoperable communications ranked first on a list of homeland security advisors' concerns. According to the survey, nearly every state has a statewide interoperable communications governance structure in place, however, many states need to draw in additional stakeholders or formalize their activities to improve interoperability."

Wireless Usage Survey - RadioRescource for Netmotion - A recent vendor survey of public-safety agencies found that nearly 60 percent of the agencies intend to invest more heavily in wireless technology next year. The customer survey was conducted in October across NetMotion Wireless’ installed base of more than 1,200 organizations and government agencies.

Among the key findings:

• In addition to the 60 percent of agencies that plan to invest in wireless technology next year; 23 percent were unsure; and 17 percent said they did not plan to do so.
• Given the broad geographic regions they cover, about 94 percent of public-safety agencies rely on multiple wireless data networks for their deployments.
• Nearly 20 percent use a combination of Wi-Fi and one cellular carrier; more than 70 percent use Wi-Fi networks in combination with multiple wide-area data networks provided by wireless carriers.
• More than 97 percent of the respondents’ wireless deployments are comprised of laptops, while 35 percent also use tablet PCs, and about 55 percent use smart phones or other wireless handheld devices in their deployments.
• For 87 percent of IT personnel that support public-safety field forces, the key factor in defining the success of their mobile deployment is whether it saves officers' time and makes officers more productive in the field.
• During the next two years, 56 percent plan to deploy streaming video within the field and 29 percent plan to use mobile voice over IP within their agencies.

Phoenix Shared Radio System - A long-awaited regional partnership allowing [Phoenix area] police, fire and municipal agencies to talk to one another on a single radio-communications frequency is starting to take shape. ... [Bill Phillips, the project manager] anticipates that by December, a board of directors will be formed to discuss the system's design, each city's needs and how costs will be shared. The design could take six to eight months to complete.

FCC proposes easing wireless spectrum bids: "The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed halving the minimum opening bid on a piece of valuable wireless spectrum, but several commissioners expressed doubt that the plan would work, after an earlier auction failed to attract industry interest.

The five-member FCC approved a plan devised by agency Chairman Kevin Martin, cutting to $750 million a prior $1.3 billion minimum bid and easing other requirements."

Communications upgrades worked in Gustav, Ike: "As hurricanes Gustav and Ike swamped coastal communities and knocked out power to more than 1 million homes and businesses, phone and radio lines of first-responders largely held in the first true test of the communications grid developed after Hurricane Katrina. Police, search-and-rescue teams and emergency operations workers could talk to each other, radio-in damage assessments and call for help.

That's a far cry from 2005 when Katrina and Rita leveled communications systems. Portable radios and phones failed, isolating communities for days and making first-responders unaware of the scope of the devastation. The collapse prompted a $95 million upgrade in communications infrastructure.

The new system wasn't without disruptions, including failure of two radio towers for both Gustav and Ike. But backups were quickly dropped into affected areas. State officials said they never lost total communication with any parish."

FCC Plans New Auction for First-Responder Airwaves: "New details on a plan to create a national communications network for police, fire and other emergency first responders were announced yesterday by the Federal Communications Commission after an earlier effort to sell the network this year failed to produce a buyer.

Under the new proposal, the network would be auctioned as one national block of radio spectrum or, alternatively, as 58 separate regional airwaves licenses. The agency said that it prefers to sell the spectrum as a whole and that it would give priority to such a bid. But if no one meets the minimum reserve price for the national block, the commission would close the auction with a minimum of half of the 58 regional licenses sold."

A Network That Builds Itself: "Building an on-the-fly wireless communications networks is a vital part of firefighting, handling hostage situations, and dealing with other emergencies. But it is difficult to build such networks quickly and reliably. Soon these emergency wireless networks could help build themselves. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently presented details of two experimental networks that tell emergency workers when to set down wireless transmitters to ensure a good signal."

New York Statewide Wireless Network Issues Letter Of Default To M/A-COM: "Albany, N.Y. (August 29, 2008) -- The New York State Chief Information Officer/Office for Technology (CIO/OFT) today announced it had issued a letter of default to M/A-COM, Inc. -- the primary vendor responsible for building the Statewide Wireless Network. Under the contract, M/A-COM has 45 days to remediate remaining problems with the system and recertify the system as ready for use"

FEMA Takes Steps for Common Alerting System: "The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) plans to adopt an alerting protocol similar to the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) 1.1 as the standard for the Integrated Public Alert and Warnings System (IPAWS). IPAWS is a network of alert systems through which FEMA is upgrading the existing Emergency Alert System (EAS). CAP 1.1 is a format for exchanging emergency alerts allowing a consistent warning message to be disseminated simultaneously over many different warning systems. Participants in the EAS, including broadcasters and state and local emergency managers, will be required to be in compliance with CAP 1.1 standard within 180 days of its formal adoption by FEMA.

FEMA will implement it in Q1 2009"

National Emergency Communications Plan: "[On July 31st, DHS released] the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) to address gaps and determine solutions so that emergency response personnel at all levels of government and across all disciplines can communicate as needed, on demand, and as authorized. The NECP is the nation's first strategic plan to improve emergency response communications, and complements overarching homeland security and emergency communications legislation, strategies and initiatives.

'This is a comprehensive plan designed to drive measurable and sustainable improvements to operable and interoperable emergency communications nationwide over the next three years. It emphasizes the human element and cross-jurisdictional cooperation, going beyond simply buying new equipment,' said Homeland Security Under Secretary Robert Jamison. 'We have recently approved Statewide Communication Interoperability Plans for all 56 states and territories. Aligning these plans with the NECP will move emergency communications forward and further promote a coordinated nationwide strategy.'

The NECP defines three goals that establish a minimum level of interoperable communications and a deadline for federal, state, local and tribal authorities:

1. By 2010, 90 percent of all high-risk urban areas designated within the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) can demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
2. By 2011, 75 percent of non-UASI jurisdictions can demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
3. By 2013, 75 percent of all jurisdictions can demonstrate response-level emergency communications within three hours of a significant event, as outlined in the department's national planning scenarios."

FCC looks for public safety to push rebanding to completion: "Already more than one month beyond the scheduled completion date for 800 MHz rebanding, public-safety licensees operating in the band are expected to drive the monumental engineering project to substantial completion during the next year, FCC representatives said ... during the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) conference [in early August].

'Sprint [Nextel, the wireless carrier paying for rebanding] wants to get this finished. I think a lot of the burden will fall on public safety to get this done,' Derek Poarch, chief of the FCC’s public safety and homeland security bureau (PSHSB), said on Monday. 'Public-safety licensees need to push their consultants and vendors. If they’re having trouble, we’ll be happy to help them.'"

New York Statewide Wireless Network status unclear: "System kinks to the NY Statewide Wireless Network has the status of the full interoperability radio network unclear. [In June], a round of tests for the new emergency communications system - being evaluated in Erie and Chautauqua counties before it goes statewide - was postponed a month before state officials could decide the project's fate. The round of tests was delayed until the company running the project, M/A-COM, corrected problems in the system. The communication system has an Aug. 29 deadline for the state to decided whether the results of tests from the system are successful enough to launch statewide."

Texas agencies discuss emergency communications: "AUSTIN - 200 public safety representatives gathered with the Texas Radio Coalition at the Hilton Austin Airport to discuss recommendations to Gov. Rick Perry on the state's public safety wireless communication system. They plan to adopt and revise standard operating procedures for integrated communications throughout 24 regions of Texas. The improved communications system uses unified wireless radios that allow federal, state, local and tribal agencies to more effectively communicate during natural disasters such as hurricanes and other critical incidents, as well as day-to-day mutual aid events."

For a price, Hall County [GA] to let others use high-tech communications system: "Hall County has been so satisfied with its improved emergency communications that it soon will offer surrounding areas the opportunity join the 800 MHz radio system. One small catch: Other governments will have to provide their own equipment and help pay maintenance costs, said Marty Nix, director of Hall County’s 911 center.

'It’s a win-win for everyone,' Nix said. 'The more people you have involved in a system like this, the less it costs for everyone involved.'"

Digital radios in fireground limbo: "Amid concerns surrounding digital-radio performance, several public-safety agencies are considering alternatives, including analog radios.

Focus on digital-radio performance in fireground scenarios heightened last month after the release of an International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) report on the issue. Tests conducted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) indicated that analog systems provided greater audio intelligibility than digital systems in four of nine environments, including when self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) masks and personal alert safety systems (PASS) were in use.

These results and anecdotal experiences have caused firefighters in Phoenix, Orlando and Marion County, Ind., to question the wisdom of moving from analog radio to multimillion-dollar digital systems."

First responders to FCC: give up national D Block pipe dream: "They packed Brooklyn, New York's elegant Borough Hall yesterday—police and fire department officials, telco lawyers, and a former state Attorney General—lining up to tell all five members of the Federal Communications Commission how it should set up a national broadband public safety communications system. But before they spoke, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps laid out the truth: years into the process, the agency still isn't even sure what to do."

Rep. Cuellar (D-TX): Improve emergency systems: "Improving emergency communications should be a top priority for the next administration, the chairman of a House subcommittee that deals with homeland security legislation said today. In a speech, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) emphasized the importance of improving emergency response communications and interoperability, much of which depends on information technology systems. Cuellar chairs the House Homeland Security Committee’s Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response Subcommittee. Cuellar also said the next homeland security secretary should appoint an assistant secretary to manage the Homeland Security Department's Office of Emergency Communications.

“We should elevate the importance of the emergency communications of DHS,” he said. “The Office of Emergency Communications is buried in DHS.”"

Congress pushes for national emergency communications plan: "Congress criticized the Homeland Security Department on Tuesday for delaying the coordination of a national emergency communications plan for first responders, emphasizing that states have little time to take action when formulating applications for grant money. The Office of Emergency Communications, established in October 2006 in accordance with recommendations of the 9/11 commission to improve communication among emergency responders and government officials during natural disasters and acts of terrorism, was supposed to have submitted a National Emergency Communications Plan to Congress in April. The plan was developed in cooperation with state, local and tribal governments, federal agencies, emergency response providers, and the private sector. It will provide recommendations for interoperable communication during disasters by using standard technologies, such as handheld radios and broadband networks."