Technology challenges have been largely overcome in the development of radios that can operate on multiple bands but non-technical issues such as governance, operating procedures, and training, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate says in its report on the culmination of the Multi-Band Radio (MBR) pilot project.
S&T last August completed the final series of operational pilot tests of MBR radios that it had begun in 2009 with the help of local, state and federal partners involved in emergency response (HSR, Aug. 29, 2012). Those tests showed that the technology works and the final report says as much.
“For the most part, the technological gap has been bridged,” says the report, Multi-Band Radio Pilot Report: Operational Assessment, which was released this month.
To success of the program has operational benefits, the report says.
“For the state trooper patrolling highways across multiple jurisdictions, the MBR provides a capability to communicate with multiple jurisdictions seamlessly, if nonproprietary systems are in use,” the report says.
A big part of that technology gap involved having handheld radio manufacturers develop a single radio that could operate on multiple bands rather than a single one, which limits first responders in their ability to communicate across agencies and jurisdictions. First responders often have to carry more than one single band radio or share them to achieve interoperability with other responders and authorities in other agencies and jurisdictions.
In addition to being able to communicate across the Very High Frequency, Ultra High Frequency, and 700/800 MHz bands, the report lists a number of other technical successes from the pilot, including the ability to operate on non-public safety and other bands, a large color display for easy reading in different conditions, a battery pack for usage when recharging is not an option, program channeling, and more.
The report also lists numerous remaining technical challenges, which it says are not limited to MBR radios, including weight, size—in people with small hands and for concealment during undercover operations, the antenna being too long and subject to failure, inability to work on proprietary trunked radio systems, lengthy boot up time, a lack of accessories for specific disciplines such as SWAT and explosives ordnance disposal, lack of an internal cross-band repeater capability and more.
The reports says the manufacturers have spiral development programs in place to evolve the capabilities of their radios
For the pilot tests, S&T and its various partners worked with Harris Corp. [HRS], which supplied its Unity MBR radios, and Thales Communications, Inc., a U.S.-based subsidiary of France’s Thales, which supplied its Liberty MBR radios.
Despite the success in closing the technology gap with the MBR development, S&T says there are many obstacles to improving interoperability.
“The real challenges remain in the areas of governance, standard operating procedures (SOP), training and exercises, and usage,” the report says. “Many agencies do not have SOPs that enable emergency responders to successfully coordinate an incident response across disciplines and jurisdictions. There is also a lack of effective training and exercise programs that allow responders to practice communications interoperability to ensure that the technology works and responders are able to effectively communicate during emergencies. Additionally, not all solutions are used regularly to allow responders to become familiar with their use.”