[Scan-DC] RapidCom 9/30 and Interoperability Progress

[Alan Henney]

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3869
Press Releases


Fact Sheet: RapidCom 9/30 and Interoperability Progress

On July 22, 2004, President Bush formally announced RapidCom 9/30, a
program that will enable America's first responders in ten urban areas
to communicate with each other in the event of a large emergency
incident like a terrorist attack.  By September 30, 2004, a crisis
communications capability will be in place in these ten high-threat
urban areas to address the inability of emergency workers to
communicate, a long-standing problem which contributed to the tragedy
of September 11th.

Until now, cities have used their Homeland Security grant money to
purchase compatible equipment but there are other key factors that are
necessary to achieve interoperability.  RapidCom9/30 provides the
resources for these urban areas to integrate such additional factors
into an effective incident response capability.  In addition to
specifying equipment needs, RapidCom 9/30 engages public safety
officials to identify and incorporate each community's key factors of
frequency of use, standard operating procedures, regional governance,
and training and exercises - the crucial human factors in the
interoperability equation - into an interoperability solution.
President Bush and the Department of Homeland Security are committed
to both short-term and long-term solutions to this critical issue:

Improving Interoperability Now:


RapidCom 9/30 will ensure that ten high-threat urban areas have
incident-level, interoperable emergency communications capability by
September 30, 2004.  The areas include: New York, NY; Chicago, IL;
Washington, DC and the surrounding Capital Region; Los Angeles, CA;
San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Houston, TX; Jersey City, NJ;
Miami, FL; and Boston, MA.



While full interoperability will remain a long-term priority, RapidCom
9/30 will strengthen incident communications interoperability in these
urban areas for an incident area approximately the size of the attacks
on the World Trade Center towers on September 11th and ensure that
incident commanders have the ability to adequately communicate with
each other and their respective command centers.  At the incident
area, first responders from various disciplines and regional
jurisdictions will be able to communicate using existing equipment
that is made interoperable by a patch-panel device, interconnecting
various models of equipment that would otherwise not be compatible.



Achieving interoperability will require more than just linked
equipment, and RapidCom 9/30 provides the ten urban areas the
assistance they need to make that equipment work, including:
technical assistance in setting up the technology; development of
standard operating procedures that will guide all public safety
officials; training in the use of the equipment; help in planning and
conducting test exercises; and assistance in establishing a regional
governance structure that brings all relevant agencies together
cooperatively.



RapidCom 9/30 is the latest example of how the Department of Homeland
Security is working hand-in-hand with state and local governments and
public safety officials to make America safer.  The local knowledge
and active involvement of officials in these urban areas is critical
to achieve interoperability. RapidCom 9/30 is designed to fit the
unique needs of each urban area, and Homeland Security is providing
guidance and expertise to promote local leadership, planning, and
collaboration.



The successes achieved in these cities will serve both as a foundation
for a replicable model of incident-level interoperability in other
urban areas, and for the long-term goal of full interoperability that
first responders and public safety officials will use on a daily
basis.


Interoperability Progress Since 9/11:


In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security released the first
national Statement of Requirements for Wireless Public Safety
Communications and Interoperability, which constitutes the first
national definition of what interoperability must accomplish.  It will
drive the development and creation of interface standards that will
satisfy public safety practitioner needs, offer industry a resource
for understanding user needs in the development of new technologies,
and serve as a guide in defining research, development, test, and
evaluation programs.  Within a month of its release, over 5,000 copies
of the Statement of Requirements had been downloaded, and
manufacturers have begun mapping the capabilities of their equipment -
especially new designs - to these requirements.



Homeland Security has created the first-ever council to coordinate all
the interoperability efforts of federal agencies involved in every
element of communications at each level of government: those who build
and operate federal systems, those who manage grants and technical
assistance programs for state and local activities, and those who
regulate the airwaves.



This year Homeland Security has worked with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to resolve one of the most vexing problems facing
public safety communicators in the United States - interference on
critical public safety channels coming from cellular telephone
systems.  Recent FCC rulings will open channels that were often
unusable in emergencies, especially in major urban areas.



Since September 11th, the Administration has allocated over $200
million specifically to address the ability of fire, medical, and law
enforcement personnel to communicate with each other, even when they
are from different jurisdictions.  In addition, Homeland Security has
provided over $5.4 billion to the states, any part of which could also
be used for interoperable communications.



Because interoperability and compatibility in emergency response must
expand beyond communications, Homeland Security also announced this
year the first set of standards for personal protective equipment
developed to protect first responders against chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear incidents - protecting them as they protect
others.


Ongoing Interoperability Efforts:


Homeland Security has partnered with the Commonwealth of Virginia,
which experienced a terrorist attack on the Pentagon on September
11th, to develop a statewide planning process for public safety
communications and Interoperability.  The practitioner-driven
methodology used to develop this plan will serve as a model that can
be replicated by other states and regions across the country.



In May 2004, Secretary Ridge announced the formation of a new office
of interoperability and compatibility that will strengthen federal
government efforts already underway and ensure better coordination and
accountability for federal government activities relating to research
and development, testing and evaluation, standards, technical
assistance, training, and grant funding for interoperability.  This
new office will expand Homeland Security's interoperability efforts to
other areas of need, including equipment and training, and provide
authority and accountability to make it all happen.



Homeland Security is leading a nationwide assessment of the country's
communications capabilities and shortfalls to help the United States
plan for the future and continually monitor progress against specific
benchmarks.



The Department will ensure that emergency responders in every region
of the country have sufficient communications available to support a
major emergency, expanding the ten urban-area goal of RapidCom 9/30.


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