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Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is SAFECOM?

SAFECOM is a communications program of the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Interoperability and Compatibility that, with its Federal partners, provides research, development, testing and evaluation, guidance, tools, and templates on communications-related issues to local, tribal, state, and Federal emergency response agencies.



What is emergency response communications interoperability?

Communications interoperability is the ability of emergency response agencies to talk across disciplines and jurisdictions via radio communications systems, exchanging voice and/or data with one another on demand, in real time, when authorized.



Where else can I find information about emergency response communications?

Additional information on emergency response communications and associated Federal efforts can be obtained at the following websites:
  • CommTech: AGILE, managed within the Office of Science and Technology at the National Institute of Justice, has a mission to assist State and local law enforcement agencies to effectively and efficiently communicate with one another across agency and jurisdictional boundaries.  It is dedicated to studying interoperability options and making valuable information available to law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency technicians across the country. 
  • Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International, Inc. (APCO): APCO is the world’s oldest and largest not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of emergency response communications. 
  • Justice Technology Information Network (JUSTNET):  The official web site for the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center system, JUSTNET contains various publications on communications interoperability issues. 
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summit on Interoperable Communications for Public Safety: The Summit on Interoperable Communications for Public Safety, held at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on June 26 and 27, 2003 was a joint effort between NIST, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, Project SAFECOM, and the National Institute of Justice’s AGILE Program.  The Summit brought together a variety of programs that were created to assist emergency response practitioners.  The Summit was the initial step in familiarizing key interoperability players with the work being done by others so that mutually beneficial coordination, and collaboration, among the various technical programs could be established. 
  • National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC):  NPSTC is a federation of associations representing emergency response telecommunications.  NPSTC serves as a resource and advocate for emergency response telecommunications issues.   


Why is emergency response communications and interoperability important?

Interoperability improves the ability of emergency responders to reduce the loss of life and property in emergency situations; facilitates rapid and efficient interaction among all emergency response organizations; and provides immediate and coordinated assistance in day-to-day missions, task force operations, and mass-casualty incidents.  Interoperability affects not only emergency responders, but the public service arena as well, including legislative officials, utilities agencies, and chief information officers. Adequate emergency response radio communications are essential for emergency responders to function promptly, effectively, and cost efficiently.  If emergency response agencies cannot communicate directly with one another by radio to coordinate response, lives and property are at risk.    



Who are emergency response providers?

As defined in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Section 2(6), “The term ‘emergency response providers’ includes Federal, state, and local emergency public safety, law enforcement, emergency response, emergency medical (including hospital emergency facilities), and related personnel, agencies, and authorities.” 6 U.S.C. 101(6)



What groups belong to the public safety community?

According to the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee (PSWAC), public safety service providers perform emergency first response missions to protect and preserve life, property, and natural resources and to serve the public welfare through local, state, or Federal governments as prescribed by law. Public safety support providers include those whose primary mission might not fall within the classic public safety definition, but who may provide vital support to the general public and/or the public safety official. Law enforcement, fire, and EMS fit the first category, while transportation or public utility workers fit the second.  Public safety service providers also include non-governmental organizations that perform public safety functions on behalf of the government. For example, a number of local governments contract with private groups for ambulance and emergency medical services.



How does SAFECOM address the needs of emergency response agencies?

SAFECOM advocates a bottom-up approach which means the program relies heavily on local and state public safety practitioners input and guidance as it works to define and implement solutions for the interoperability challenge.

In promoting public safety communications interoperability, SAFECOM adheres to the following conditions and priorities:

  • Local, tribal and state agencies will continue to own the vast majority of the public safety communications infrastructure;
  • The priorities of local, tribal and State public safety communications systems are first and foremost to provide reliable agency-specific communications.  Secondly, those systems should provide reliable local interagency communications.  The requirement for reliable interagency communications between local, tribal, state, and Federal agencies is tertiary;
  • The functional and technical requirements for public safety communications equipment vary across jurisdictions and disciplines and are determined at the local level;
  • And, public safety communications will continue to operate on a variety of technologies across fragmented spectrum bands.

Based on those conditions, SAFECOM does not expect to promote a single solution to public safety interoperability across the nation.  SAFECOM will support and promote a broad range of solutions with the following key elements:

  • Technical and functional requirements should be defined at the local or tribal level up to the state and then to the Federal level;
  • Solutions should involve a “system of systems” approach that incorporates existing technologies and allows for the development of new technologies and functionality in the future;
  • And standards should be open to allow the interoperability of equipment from a variety of technologies and vendors.


Where can I apply for emergency response communications grants?

SAFECOM does not provide grants.  Federal funding for communications and information sharing planning, development, and equipment can be found in the following agencies:

  • Bureau of Justice Assistance Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG): Funds from the LLEBG program may be used for procuring equipment, technology, and other material directly related to basic law enforcement functions.
  • COPS Technology Grants: This grant program, provided through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office, is designed to expand the time available for community policing by current law enforcement officers through the funding of technology, equipment, and support personnel.
  • Office for Domestic Preparedness Equipment Grant Program: The goal of the ODP Equipment Grant Program is to provide funding to enhance the capacity of State and local jurisdictions to respond to, and mitigate the consequences of, incidents of domestic terrorism involving the use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). Communications equipment is included on the authorized equipment purchase lists for these ODP grants.
  • Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Information Technology Initiatives: The OJP Information Technology Initiatives web site offers access to timely and useful information on the information sharing process, initiatives, and technological developments. The funding section of this site provides information on both Federal and private funding sources, examples of innovative funding ideas, and tips on researching funding legislation.
  • National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Funding Opportunities: NIJ is the research and development agency of the U.S. Department of Justice and is the only Federal agency solely dedicated to researching crime control and justice issues. This page lists the most recent solicitations issued by NIJ.
  • United States Department of Justice (DOJ):  DOJ offers funding opportunities to conduct research, to support law enforecement activities in state and local jurisdictions, to provide traning and technical assistance, and to implement programs that improve the criminal justice system.

  • Office of Justice Programs (OJP): On this page, you will find links to current funding opportunities at OJP listed by their source and various grant related forms and information.



How long will it take to achieve emergency response communications interoperability?

There is no quick and easy solution to solving communications interoperability issues.  Achieving an optimal state of nationwide interoperability involves both human and technological factors and will be the result of a cumulative effort that involves coordination of processes and input from stakeholders across all levels of government.

Full interoperability could take 20 years because of equipment life cycles and time needed to develop and implement standards. In the mean time, SAFECOM and other organizations are working to ensure short-term solutions are in place.



What is SAFECOM doing to address interoperability in the short-term?

In the last year, SAFECOM has:

  • Created the Federal Interagency Coordination Council (FICC) to coordinate funding, technical assistance, standards development, and regulations affecting communications and interoperability across the federal government; 
  • Published a Statement of Requirements which, for the first time, defines what it will take to achieve full interoperability and provides industry requirements against which to map their product capabilities;
  • Issued a request for proposals for the development of a national interoperability baseline;
  • Initiated an effort to accelerate the development of critical standards for interoperability;
  • Created a Grant Guidance document that has been used by FEMA, COPS, and ODP state block grant program to promote interoperability improvement efforts.
  • Established a task force with the Federal Communications Commission to consider spectrum and regulatory issues that can strengthen emergency response interoperability;
  • Created a model methodology for developing statewide communications plans;
  • Released a Request for Information to industry that netted more than 150 responses;
  • And worked with the emergency response community (local, tribal, state, and federal) to  develop a governance document that defines both how SAFECOM will operate and how participating agencies will work within that framework. 


What is radio spectrum and why is it important to interoperability?

Radio spectrum is one of the nation’s most valuable, finite resources.  It is electronic real estate—the complete range of frequencies and channels that can be used for radio communications. Spectrum is the highway over which voice, data, and image communications travel.  Inadequate radio spectrum is a major barrier to effective emergency response communications, both in major events and in day-to-day operations.  Without access to effective radio spectrum, emergency response personnel cannot communicate with their own agencies and with each other as needed. 



What is P25?

Project 25 (P25) defines a suite of standards for a digital wireless radio communications system to be used by the emergency response community.  To allow multiple vendors to supply the products and services to the communications system users, the Project 25 system has eight interfaces for which standards are or will be developed.  Each interface allows the products of one manufacturer to interoperate with products of other manufacturers by defining the signaling and messages that cross the interface.  For example, an agency could purchase P25 portable radios from one or more vendors, mobile radios from other vendors, the base stations from others, and dispatch consoles from still other vendors; all would have the features the agency needs to accomplish its mission, and all would interoperate under the P25 standards.



Why can't emergency response agencies talk?

Inadequate and unreliable wireless communications have plagued emergency response organizations for decades.  In many cases, agencies cannot fully perform mission critical duties because they are unable to communicate with other emergency response personnel who are responding to the same incident. These agencies are unable to share vital voice and/or data information via radio with other jurisdictions in day-to-day operations and in emergency response to large-scale incidents including acts of terrorism and natural disasters.   

While mismatched technology accounts for part of the problem, it is only part of the story. As noted in a report published in February 2003 by the National Task Force on Interoperability, the emergency response community has identified the following as the key issues that hamper emergency response wireless communications today:

  • Incompatible and aging communications equipment;
  • Limited and fragmented budget cycles and funding;
  • Limited and fragmented planning and coordination;
  • Limited and fragmented radio spectrum;
  • And limited equipment standards.



Why can't emergency responders use cell phones to talk to each other?

Unfortunately it’s not that simple. Although emergency response practitioners regularly use cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other commercial wireless devices and services, these devices are currently not sufficiently suited for emergency response communications during critical incidents.

First and foremost, emergency response officials cannot depend upon commercial systems that can be overloaded and unavailable.  Experience has shown such systems are often the most unreliable during critical incidents when public demand overwhelms the systems.  

Emergency response officials have unique and demanding communications requirements. Optimal public safety radio communication systems require:

  • Dedicated channels and priority access that is available at all times to handle unexpected emergencies;
  • Reliable one-to-many broadcast capability, a feature not generally available in cellular systems;
  • Highly reliable and redundant networks that are engineered and maintained to withstand natural disasters and other emergencies;
  • The best possible coverage within a given geographic area, with a minimum of dead zones;
  • And, unique equipment designed for quick response in emergency situations—dialing, waiting for call connection, and busy signals are unacceptable during critical events when seconds can mean the difference between life and death.


Who are emergency responders?

Emergency responders include law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical service providers who are the first to arrive at the scene of an emergency.



What is the Public Safety Statement of Requirements?

The SAFECOM Program developed the nation’s first ever Statement of Requirements (SoR) for Wireless Public Safety Communications and Interoperability in coordination with the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Justice’s AGILE Program.  This statement defines future communications requirements for crucial voice and data communications in day-to-day, task force, and mutual aid operations and serves as a first step toward establishing base-level communications and interoperability standards for all emergency response agencies.  The SoR also helps the emergency response community convey a shared and vetted vision that ultimately will help industry better align research and development efforts with critical interoperable communication needs.  In February 2006, SAFECOM released an updated version of the SoR with refinements based on input from the emergency response community.



How can I contact SAFECOM?

For more information on the SAFECOM Program, please visit our website or call 1-866-969-7233.



What is the greatest obstacle in achieving seamless communications among the Nation's emergency responders?

Beyond the barriers discussed earlier, the greatest challenge is human.  The challenge comes in helping stakeholders at all the levels of government understand the need for and the potential value of effective interoperability.  More importantly, it requires giving all stakeholders a voice in the national process, understanding all stakeholder perspectives, and showing the advantages of participating in a coordinated effort. SAFECOM's approach is targeted at overcoming these barriers through the development of tools, templates, and methodologies in service of the emergency response community. The SAFECOM national strategy rests on the principle that every level of government involved in interoperability has a real voice in SAFECOM planning.