INTEROPERABILITY A LONG WAY OFF, WITNESS TELL CONGRESS
Interoperable public-safety communications is still years away, govt. panelists told the House Govt. Reform National Security Subcommittee. The hearing focused on a GAO report released Tues. and featured witnesses who downplayed expectations for interoperability. FCC Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta told Subcommittee Chmn. Shays (R-Conn.) it would be “significant” if it took just 5 years for the govt. to develop effective planning for interoperability. Shays said 5 years of work on “just planning” would be a “huge failure.”
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
There’s not enough information to determine the scope of the interoperability problem facing public safety agencies, the GAO report said. The govt. lacks comprehensive data -- making it difficult to determine how much work and funding is needed to upgrade communications systems -- and it will be difficult for the govt. to even obtain this data, GAO said. David Boyd, SAFECOM Program Mgr. for the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), said the federal govt. lacked the authority to require certain data reporting from state and local govts. Also, the grant structure makes coordination of interoperability solutions difficult, the GAO report said.
The GAO had several recommendations for DHS: (1) Develop a nationwide database of interoperable public safety frequency channels and a standard nationwide nomenclature for these channels. (2) Establish requirements for interoperable communications. (3) Use DHS grant guidance to encourage states to establish a single statewide body to assess interoperability and develop a statewide plan for all communication systems. (4) At the appropriate time, require DHS grants mandate that equipment purchases conform with statewide interoperability plans. GAO also recommended that the DHS and the OMB review SAFECOM’s functions and establish it as a long-term program with adequate authority and funding.
Muleta said the FCC would likely make more efforts to find and deliver spectrum to public safety organizations, highlighting the recent FCC ruling to reband the 800 MHz spectrum. But Muleta also said “there are limitations” to what the FCC can do. “The Commission is only one stakeholder in the process and many of the challenges facing interoperability are a result of the disparate governmental interests -- local, state, and federal -- that individually operate portions of our national public safety system,” he said. Muleta said the U.S. has 40,000 public safety agencies. He downplayed questions Shays had about the time needed to create interoperability. When Shays asked what progress on interoperability could be expected in 5 years, Muleta emphasized planning, which he said was “80% of the issue.”
William Jenkins, GAO dir.-homeland security & justice issues, said little progress would be made in 5 years unless changes were made. He said more key participants needed to be brought together and timetables needed to be set: “There should be a carrot and stick approach.” Jenkins also said there’s some confusion over who’s in charge of bringing all parties to the table. The Office for Interoperability & Compatibility in DHS, which could coordinate some of the information and planning efforts, is still being developed. Boyd said DHS was scheduled to have collected enough data by the end of next year to know the extent of the problem.
Other witnesses told the Subcommittee that local funding issues had to be taken into account when developing interoperability guidelines. Glen Nash, Cal. Dept. of Gen. Services telecom div., said many fire departments. hold bake sales to raise money to buy equipment -- requiring a “stable level of interoperability” that was consistent and could be accomplished without wholesale replacement of communication equipment. Muleta said all equipment manufactured after Jan. 2005 is required to have some level of interoperability.