National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
NPSTC’s - Current Events and Activities in
Public Safety Communications
IWCE 2008
Thursday – February 28, 2008 – 11:15am – 12:30pm
Moderator – Marilyn Ward
Panelists – Tom Sorley, Douglas Aiken , Ralph Haller,
and John Powell
NPSTC Member Organizations
Member Organizations:
Associate Members:
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American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials
American Radio Relay League
Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials - International
Forestry Conservation Communications
Association
International Association of Chiefs of
Police
International Association of Emergency
Managers
International Association of Fire Chiefs
International Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies
International Municipal Signal Association
National Association of State Chief
Information Officers
National Association of State Emergency
Medical Services Officials
National Association of State Foresters
National Association of State
Telecommunications Directors
National Emergency Number Association
National Sheriffs’ Association
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Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest
Group
Telecommunications Industry Association
Liaison Organizations:
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Department of Justice
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National Institute of Justice
Federal Communications Commission
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
U.S. Department of Interior
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
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Office of Interoperability &
Compatibility
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Office of Emergency Communications
• Federal Partnership for
Interoperable Communications
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Federal Emergency Management
Agency
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SAFECOM
U.S. Department of Interior
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
2
How is NPSTC organized?
• NPSTC’s Governing Board
– Representatives from each of its member
organizations.
• Executive Committee
– The Executive Committee comprises a Chair, two
Vice Chairs, and the four Committee Chairs.
• Four Operational Committees
– Interoperability Committee
– PSST Advisory Committee
– Spectrum Management Committee
– Technology Committee
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
3
NPSTC Organization
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
4
National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
Tom Sorley
Technology
In-Building Working Group
• Vendor Neutral Best Practices Document
• Participation from Industry and Public Safety
Paper published December 2007
– The main document can be downloaded from the
NPSTC website
http://www.npstc.org/documents/20071212_NPSTC%20IBWG%20White%
20Paper.pdf
– The Appendices can also be downloaded from the
NPSTC website
http://www.npstc.org/documents/20071212_IBWG%20White%20Paper%20
Appendix%20A-E.pdf
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
6
Broadband Standards Working Group
• Public Safety Requirements
• Massive effort by industry and public safety
community.
• Document contained requirements of PS
• Opportunity for Review and Comment was
provided to over 256,000 public safety users
• Received and responded to over 400
comments
• Published November 2007
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Broadband Standards Working Group
Activities
• Handset Requirements
• 4.9GHz Standard
• Harmonization of PS broadband
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Technology Education Work Group
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Investigating Topic Area Deficiencies
Determining Target Audience(s)
Investigating Training Vehicles
Participation Welcomed & Encouraged
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
Douglas Aiken
Vocoder
Background
• In the Fall of 2006, a couple of U.S. fire
departments discovered that the voice audio
from digital radios in the presence of
background noises (common to the fire
operations) may cause distortion to the degree
of becoming unintelligible.
• These Departments after not being able to get
resolution to the problem or identify the cause
other than it being in digital radios notified the
IAFC, and the IAFF.
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Example of the Issue
Analog
(no background noise)
P25
(no background noise)
Analog
(fire truck)
P25
(fire truck)
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
12
Actions Taken on the Issue
• March 20, 2007, the IAFC issued a Member Alert.
• The IAFC also approved the formation of a
Working Group to determine the scope of the
problem and work with manufacturers and other
stakeholders to identify and/or develop short and
long term solutions.
• On May 8, 2007, the Working Group convened and
established two sub groups (Testing and Best
Practices).
• The Testing Group is focused on more long term
solutions while the Best Practices Group is
focused on quicker solutions through behavior
and/or operational modifications.
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
13
Best Practices
• On July 24, 2007, the Best Practices Group
met and finalized forwarded its recommended
best practices to the Working Group and to the
Testing Group for follow-up.
– Includes things such as microphone
placement and specific issues that should
be addressed in training.
• Developed a PowerPoint presentation for
educational and outreach purposes
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
14
Testing Group
• In July, the Testing Group met in Denver and
worked with NIST to develop a practical testing
strategy. NIST started the testing on 11/9/07 using
an intelligibility test call the Modified Rhyme Test
(MRT)
– 9 noise conditions
• With and without mask, noises like fire
trucks, chain saws, low air alarms, PASS
alarms
– 4 radio systems
• 25 KHz analog, 12.5 kHz analog, baseline
P25, P25 with enhanced vocoder
– 54,000 sample files generated
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Testing Status (as of 1/11/08)
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15 of 30 subjects tested
12 additional subjects currently scheduled
Expect testing complete this month
Analysis expected by 2/28/08
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
Ralph Haller
Border Issues
General Propositions
• Radio communications are essential for
successful Public Safety operations
• Interoperability is vital
– Between agencies
– Across borders
• Interference poses a significant threat to
successful communications and to the safety
of life of public safety responders
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
18
Border Goals
• Borders should be transparent for public safety
operations
• Interference must be eliminated quickly
• Note: Canada and Mexico present different
challenges
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Major PS Bands
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150 – 174 MHz
450 – 470 MHz
470 – 512 MHz
700 MHz
800 MHz (including NPSPAC)
4.9 GHz wideband
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Mexico
• NPSTC supports the HLCC and its Directory
of Bilateral Issues for 2007-2009
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Protocols for VHF/UHF spectrum use
Reconfiguration of 800 MHz band
700 MHz compatibility
Interference resolution procedures
• NPSTC supports the cross-border microwave
network solution for PS interoperability
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Mexico, cont.
• Further issues for consideration
– 4.9 GHz
– TV channel 15 vacated in Mexico and should be
considered for Public Safety use
– Adoption of common nomenclature for public safety
communications across the border
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Canada
• 700/800 MHz progressing
• Above 30 MHz Agreement needs revision
– Too many US applications being denied
– No common interference standards
• No protocol for interference resolution
• No 4.9 GHz agreement
• NPSTC working directly with sister PS
organization in Canada on common issues
(under guidance of DOS and FCC)
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
23
Conclusion
• Resolution of border issues is essential for
national security
– Seamless interoperability across borders
– Several additional bilateral agreements to share or
coordinate use of spectrum are needed
– In the new agreements spectrum should be
distributed equitably and procedures for coordination
streamlined
– Interference resolution procedures similar to those
used with Mexico are needed for Canada
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
24
National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
John Powell
Interoperability
Channel Naming
• Background
– Initially an NCC Interoperability Committee
recommendation that was approved by the NCC and
forwarded to the FCC, but FCC refused to require it
– Resurrected by NPSTC in 2006, with drivers being
Katrina and Wildland fires
– Plan developed, nationally circulated, and revised on
5 Feb 2007 in Orlando
– Nationally vetted for 90 days, revised and adopted
by NPSTC Governing Board in June, 2007.
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
26
Channel Naming
• New 700 MHz Channel Plan Overview
– Has a placeholder for Federal interoperability
channels managed by NTIA
– Notes that there may be changes to the 700 MHz
interoperability channels
• Recent FCC action that consolidated the narrowband
voice blocks
• Petition submitted by NPSTC to modify 700 MHz
interoperability/itinerant channel use
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One National Calling channel
Voice secondary on one data channel
Deployable trunked infrastructure
Increased power on itinerant (analog) channels
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
27
Channel Naming
• Also included in NPSTC Report
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Standardized tone squelch (156.7 Hz)
Standardized digital NAC ($293)
Recommended subscriber channel configurations
Costs associated with changing to the
recommended standard
– Timeline for implementation, noting least/no cost
options for updating programming
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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Channel Naming
Naming structure:
Btype##M
B Band
Type
##
M
L,V,U,7,8
CALL, DATA, FIRE,
GTAC, LAW, MED,
MOB, TAC
A unique number from 01-99
that also identifies the band
Modifier: “D” for direct or
talkaround (simplex on
output of pair)
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
29
Channel Naming
• Recent changes
– Modifications to account for 800 MHz displays with
fewer characters
• CAL90, TAC91, TAC92, TAC93, TAC94
• ANSI standardization
– APCO, an ANSI-accredited Standards Definition
Organization, will be the lead in partnership with
other NPSTC Governing Board organizations to
standardize this system.
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
30
Channel Naming
• What is coming in the future?
– Plan has now been adopted by a number of states
• Example: California, where use of the names per
associated timeline is a condition of eligibility to use
SIEC-managed interoperability channels
– Once plan is ANSI-certified, will be returned to the
FCC as a Petition for Rulemaking
• Katrina and 9-11 Commission Reports noted lack of
standardized interoperability channel naming as a
major issue
• ANSI certification carries significant weight
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
31
Statewide Planning
• Background
– All 57 states and territories submitted their SCIPS by
the 3 Dec 2007 deadline
– SCIPS and PSIC Investment Justifications are in
final SME review at DHS
– Quality and substance of plans varied widely across
the country
– It is clear that some states did not understand that
the SCIPs required local input and approval, and
were not a “state” plan, rather a “statewide” plan…
stay tuned!
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
32
Statewide Planning
• National Interoperability Information
eXchange (NIIX)
NIIX Documents Accessed
NIIX Users
800
700
600
1500
200
0
100
2879
300
1546
3000
400
4319
500
112
198
Aug
Sept
5031
4500
279
Oct
5459
6000
321
358
Nov
Dec
Available
0
Jul
Aug Sept Oct
Nov Dec
Accessed
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
33
Hot Off the Press
• Communications Unit Work Group
– NIIX Community
– Summary from Seattle meeting
• COML Course Curriculum
• Communications Unit Awareness Class
• Delivery Schedule
• Statewide Plan (SCIP) Review
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
34
Plain Talk
• Background
– Aural Brevity Codes (10/11/900/Q codes)
– Not an easy change since plain text replacement
language needs to be standardized, too
– Recent activity: State of Virginia
• SAFECOM Initiatives
– Plain Language Brochure
• Where is this going?
– Publication, and potential eventual online
SAFECOM tool to assist with transition
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
35
How Can You Have A
Voice In NPSTC?
• Come to NPSTC’s quarterly meetings and
have a voice in this important work.
• Participate in quarterly NPSTC meetings via
conference call.
• Join a Committee or Working Group and
participate in their working conference calls.
• Join NPSTC’s listservs and stay abreast of
issues and activities.
• Remain current with the postings,
publications and other resources on the
website at www.NPSTC.org
NPSTC is a federation of organizations whose mission is to improve public safety communications
and interoperability through collaborative leadership.
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