FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE
One big concern troubling homeland-security officials, and an area that continues to be studied, is incompatibility in communications. One lesson that came out of the 1993 World Trade Center terrorist bombing is that federal agencies, local law enforcement and fire departments, ambulance services, and the military could not communicate. They each operated with the frequencies assigned to their agencies, unable to talk directly to one another.
This resulted in the formation of the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee, which spent a year looking at interoperability from every angle, from technology and spectrum allocation to funding. The committee produced a 600-page report. But 10 years later, even after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, little has changed.
Several organizations and companies are finally on the case. The Telecom-munications Industry Association (TIA) has been working with the public safety community to develop standards for public safety wireless communications interoperability. New systems under one of these programs, known as Project 25, were established to develop voice and data standards for digital public safety wireless communications. They're steadily coming online around the U.S., with more being developed. Under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, every 700-MHz radio must include Project 25 compatibility. The Pentagon also requires Project 25 for new land mobile radios. According to the Public Safety Wireless Network, a joint effort of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury, 14 states have implemented interoperable emergency communications systems, mostly as a result of post-Sept. 11 pressures.
Meanwhile, a guide for public officials titled "Why Can't We Talk—Working Together To Bridge The Communications Gap To Save Lives," was released by the National Task Force on Interoperability (NTFI). The NFTI has called on Congress to create a national Spectrum Trust Fund that would set aside funds from revenue from the sale of radio frequencies to the private sector to help state and local governments coordinate their communications. NFTI is also promoting the passage of the Homeland Emergency Response Operations Act. It would give public agencies the broadcast frequencies Congress set aside for them in 1997 (from 764 to 775 MHz and from 794 to 806 MHz) that are being used by TV channels 63, 64, 68, and 69.
In addition, several industry OEMs have developed and are marketing hardware they claim meets communications interoperability requirements. Transcrypt International's (www.transcryptsecure.com) portable Tactical Interoperability Kit (TIK) can link portable and mobile radios operating in three frequencies. M/A-Com (www.macom.com) is promoting a scalable, network-based system called NetworkFirst that converts audio signals into IP digital data packets for transmission to regional operating centers. The center would send the messages over a private intranet connecting multiple radio systems. Eventually, says Jay Herther, M/A-Com's federal market manager, this could be expanded into a nationwide network linking existing systems of all makes, modes, and frequencies.
Further progress came in early March when the National Communications System (NCS), responsible for ensuring emergency preparedness communications, formally joined the Department of Homeland Security. The NCS has been a function of the DoD for 40 years. It currently works with U.S. wireless carriers to deploy a Wireless Priority Service, expected to be available nationally to first responder services by year's end. Help may also be on the way from Congress. Legislation recently introduced by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) proposes to set aside $109 million to ensure that fire, police, and other emergency-management services can communicate among themselves.
CYBER SECURITY
A raging debate at the federal level on cyber security continues. Is it adequate? Most experts think it's insufficient, pointing out that the Department of Homeland Security lacks the resources and expertise to secure the nation's information systems. Government officials insist that's changing, with information security receiving the highest priority, but they admit that much more work must be done.