[Ccarc] Stuff:

[Tom Murray]

		9-1-1 VoIP Bill Passes Full House (11/14)
		

		
The 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007, designed to ensure
that a consumer calling 9-1-1 in an emergency from an Internet phone
using VoIP service would be connected, passed in the House. The bill
now goes to the Senate for a vote.
“I believe that VoIP users should have the same degree of confidence
that their call will go through as anyone calling from a traditional
phone or wireless service,” said Rep. Edward Markey, chairman of the
subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet. The bill also improves 9-1-1 services for the deaf community. 
PSIC's Strategic Technology Reserves Defined
 

 
By Jeffrey Jacobson
The Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) grant program
requires states and territories to establish and implement “strategic
technology reserves” (STR) to preposition or secure interoperable
communications in advance for immediate deployment in an emergency
situation or major disaster. But what does strategic technology reserve
really mean? 
To qualify for grant funding, the STR must be capable of
re-establishing communications when existing critical infrastructure is
damaged or destroyed. Although many different approaches can be taken,
a STR that combines diverse, highly mobile equipment with
next-generation technology and a well-designed stationing plan to
support daily operations as well as disaster preparedness will be most
effective. 



Specifically, we suggest a thorough risk assessment should identify the
right combination of tactical man-portable and mobile interoperability
platforms that can be interconnected or swarmed for a large-scale or
long-term disaster and the integration of diverse devices using
existing Internet protocols. This IP augmentation strategy uses what is
often called “everything over IP” (EoIP).
Tactical portable or mobile assets can rapidly deliver critical
communications. This concept of operations is based on a “small unit
swarming” model using EoIP platforms designed to support communications
operability and interoperability. Each platform should be comprised of
satellite, wireless, LMR and interoperability bridging systems with the
necessary power subsystems to enable continuous operation independent
of existing infrastructure.
The following proposed STR portable and mobile communications assets conform to the PSIC grant program and Safecom guidance 2.4.
 Key Characteristics
To meet the PSIC grant guidance for the STR, a well-designed
tactical interoperable communications plan (TICP) should augment
existing strategic communications capabilities — towers, radios and
repeaters; provide a rapid tactical response anywhere, anytime; and
meet the PSIC requirements for STR. It’s important to integrate the
following key goals to ensure efficiency and success:
• Complete a comprehensive risk and needs assessment to determine
the correct STR mix of man-portable and mobile equipment, training and
other required resources;
• Acquire and pre-position STR tactical interoperability assets and
redundant communications capabilities to meet specific response and
capability goals dictated by the governor of each state, key
emergency-response officials, and appropriate state or local personnel;
• Augment strategic communications infrastructure for any situation
through STR-deployable satellite reach-back, wireless, and LMR bridging
technologies;
• Fully integrate STR resources with existing interoperable
resources and future technology to form a single, comprehensive and
cost-effective answer for true tactical interoperability, providing the
ability to simultaneously interconnect multiple STR assets during
large-scale and/or long-term events or disasters; and 
• Integrate, fund and support an in-depth STR operator training
program and final program evaluation/validation through scenario-based,
multijurisdictional, multidisciplinary and multiagency programs — your
equipment, personnel, locations and scenarios.
To implement an STR mix capable of re-establishing communications
when existing infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, four key
characteristics must be embraced:
1. Rapid deployment. Resources must be available, preconfigured and
in a constant state of readiness for immediate deployment. Once on the
scene, their systems must be fully operational in minutes, providing
rapid command and control communications to support an immediate
tactical response while a strategic mitigation plan is formulated.
Incident commanders must have the flexibility to quickly redeploy and
redirect assets at a moment’s notice as the situation dictates.
2. Extreme mobility. Mobile resources must be able to negotiate any
disaster route. Where roads are impassable, they must be maneuverable
off-road, and over and around obstacles and in harsh environments.
Man-portable solutions must allow for a single operator to carry the
communications assets to the scene. 



3. Self powering. Because electricity is often the first resource to
fail, communications assets must include the necessary power subsystems
to be self-sufficient. Hybrid, lightweight power generation and storage
technologies must deploy to the scene to minimize the need for delivery
of fossil fuel power.
4. Redundancy. Resources must be designed with redundancy at the
core. Satellite and terrestrial wireless, LMR, interoperable radio
bridging and associated power systems must be available through
multiple delivery streams to ensure dependable, interoperable
communications in any condition.
The Challenge: Ready or Not? 
Within the public-safety domain, there is always one “nightmare
scenario” that responders hope will never happen. But what if it does?
By instantly connecting first responders, integrating and
interconnecting follow-on responses, and by establishing a
broad-spectrum communications umbrella for large-scale and long-term
incidents — linked communications assets — STRs are the most logical
answer. However, despite the name, equipment must not sit in warehouses
reserved only for disasters.
STR investments need to be used regularly in daily operations and in
recurring operator training and scenario-based exercises that cross
organizational boundaries with other assets and agencies. Through
repetitive use, key emergency-response officials, incident commanders,
and appropriate state and local personnel will be able to operate STR
assets efficiently, effectively and effortlessly during a crisis. In
other words, it will become second nature.
Evaluated training and periodic validation exercises of STR assets
and associated processes will ensure that true interoperability — the
confluence of people, resources and technology — is achieved every time
disaster strikes. Better still, the daily use of STR assets ensures
that equipment and systems are always on, always up and that the
operators are intimately familiar with all systems.
Tactical Platforms 


Following are recommended STR components: 


Self-powered, man-portable interoperability backpacks. STRs should
include integrated communications packs: self-powered backpacks with
satellite, wireless and LMR equipment that enable far-forward emergency
responders to communicate with incident commanders and appropriate
state and local officials.
Interoperability backpacks should be specifically designed to
support a five- to 10-person team for use in rapid assessment, command
and control, and front-line communications for all hazards.
Deployment in the initial hours of incident response should provide
immediate interoperable communications in extreme first-mile
environments where there may be no roads, power, communications, and/or
network. Able to be deployed by air or on foot, interoperability
backpacks enable the transmission of critical, life-saving data from a
far-forward incident scene to and from a remote command center. The
backpack’s transfer of near real-time information and its wireless
capabilities provide critical situational awareness to those with
limited access to a scene, thereby enhancing the ability to make
time-sensitive decisions.
The platforms should have multiple power sources and redundant
systems to ensure connectivity in the most unpredictable settings,
delivering the following capabilities:
• Early reconnaissance and assessment
• Immediate communications operability and interoperability
• Rapid command and control
• Interoperable radio bridging for multiple frequencies
• Live data, voice, video and Internet
• Extendable wireless hot spot
• Resilient, reliable satellite reach-back communications
• Stand-alone power generation
• Critical content sharing and collaboration
Mobile interoperability platforms: operations vehicles. An STR
strategy should also include highly mobile operations vehicles designed
to meet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) national preparedness
goal and target capabilities list by providing:
• Interoperable communications capabilities (voice, LMR, data and video)
• Integrated platforms for information sharing and collaboration 
• An extensible framework for chemical, biological, radiological/nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) detection 
• Sensor data monitoring from the same platforms used for communications 
Vehicles should be equipped with advanced satellite, wireless and
LMR technologies using EoIP for immediate operability and
interoperability. The vehicles should also be able to establish
critical, reliable communications and operational networks — within
minutes of arrival at any incident requiring extended communications.
Operations vehicles should enable personnel from different
disciplines and jurisdictions to communicate effectively in a wide
range of situations including hazmat spills, terrorist attacks, extreme
weather events, urban search and rescue, disaster response,
surveillance/reconnaissance, law-enforcement investigation and
operations, CBRNE detection, training and mock exercises.
The recommended core functional components of the vehicle’s self-contained suite should:
• Function as a stand-alone wireless communications node,
interconnecting local end-user wireless devices using LMR and wireless
spectrum;
• Provide long-distance reach-back to organizational headquarters,
emergency operations centers or fusion centers via Ku-band satellite
links;
• Connect public and private voice networks to enable conversation
with personnel and expert resources located anywhere in the world; 
• Establish local wireless mesh connectivity, with options to
interface with multiple remote mesh networks to extend operational
coverage areas; and
• Integrate with sensor networks for robust perimeter protection, video surveillance and hazmat detection.
STRs that incorporate these recommended platforms and augmentation
strategies coupled with regular, rigorous and effective training and
operational precepts will: 
• Improve the ability and effectiveness of the governor of each
state, key emergency-response officials, incident commanders, and
appropriate state or local personnel to rapidly share critical
information during disasters and daily operations; and
• Ensure that the correct type, mix and quantity of operable and
interoperable STR assets are rapidly available at the scene of any
incident or disaster to save lives, protect first responders and help
mitigate the loss of property.
The PSIC grant presents a phenomenal financial opportunity for each
state and territory to finally achieve true statewide interoperability.
The key to success is to augment fixed infrastructure, towers,
repeaters, switches and radios, with tactical communications assets,
mobile and portable with integrated power systems, that will work
anywhere, anytime, in any condition. 
Because the STR is a mandatory requirement of the overall PSIC grant
process, why not integrate this opportunity into your tactical
communications plan? It benefits all citizens, multiple agencies and
public-safety disciplines, and it is fiscally responsible.

Jeff Jacobson drives strategic marketing for CommsFirst’s offerings.
A patent holder in satellite communications, he has a 25-year track
record creating services and building companies. CommsFirst has
designed a set of toolkits and solutions that meet key objectives for
establishing and implementing STRs, as well as daily operability and
interoperability. Contact him at info at commsfirst.com.
 



		

	
	
	

_________________________________________________________________
Put your friends on the big screen with Windows Vista® + Windows Live™.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/shop/specialoffers.mspx?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_CPC_MediaCtr_bigscreen_102007
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ns1.culcom.net/pipermail/ccarc/attachments/20071128/b85b2e2f/attachment-0001.htm