While the government subsequently ordered the creation of a nationwide, interoperable communications network for firstresponders, its future is uncertain after a federal plan to auction off airwaves for the network to private bidders – who would build the network and give public safety top priority – failed to attract a minimum bid.Ībsent funding for a nationwide network, “You’ve got to start with what you’ve got,” said the Department of Homeland Security’s David Boyd, director of the command, control and interoperability division within the agency’s Science and Technology Directorate.įirstresponders in the Washington area have had interoperable communications since before the Sept. 11, 2001, as hampering the response to the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and in New York.
The 9/11 commission identified interagency communication breakdowns on Sept. Interoperability is a challenge for jurisdictions across the country as most emergency officials rely on their own land mobile radio (LMR) systems while state and federal responders are increasingly using mobile Internet devices. By allowing a single user to view the locations of other users in a given area, the system enables firefighters and others to create an ad-hoc group of users and communicate with each other immediately and simultaneously, either over wireless broadband or through traditional wireless radios. Government and industry officials say the technology – called Radio Over Wireless Broadband, or ROW-B – has the potential to save firstresponders time in an emergency. The District is testing a public safety communications system that allows firefighters, police and medical personnel to link radio communications seamlessly with the Internet.
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