Coordinated communication…a national problem!
by Mary Scott Nabers, CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
Public officials, first responders, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical professionals are painfully aware that the country struggles with communication problems every time an emergency occurs. The problem is not new…so citizens wonder why it is not fixed. What is taking so long? Surely it is obvious that communication that crosses government jurisdictions should be coordinated.
The problem is obvious. Serious study is under way. The problem is that there is no simple fix! The good news is that an abundance of money, expertise and efforts are all focused on a solution to this critical problem.
In spite of the fact that technology is advancing at the speed of light, there are thousands of different types of communication systems and just as many reasons why public officials are not able to communicate as they need to when emergencies occur. Here’s a quick overview describing some of the serious issues that government must overcome.
- Too many public officials have very old equipment.
Some communication systems throughout the United States are more than 20 years old…and in some jurisdictions, parts of the infrastructure may be closer to 40 years old. In many jurisdictions, there is no longer any technical support for the old systems. But, that brings us to the next problem.
- There is limited and fragmented funding to upgrade equipment.
In most regions, there are no true interoperable communication systems that support numerous jurisdictions such as police, fire departments, county, state, regional and federal offices. Some have made giant strides but it is hard to find a working system anywhere that does not have problems. Primarily, the problem is funding. And, technology and equipment are not the only needed tools. Interoperability requires more…such as policies, procedures, training, agreements and drills.
- There has been only limited and fragmented planning to solve this problem.
As public entities compete for funding, the interoperability issue usually rarely makes the top of any request list. And, it will take funding not only for equipment but also for strategic planning.
- There is a lack of coordination and cooperation.
Governmental entities are always reluctant to relinquish control over critical infrastructure of any type. Communication systems are particularly protected. Most public officials will not give up control and many are reluctant to share management of it.
- There is not enough public radio bandwidth.
Most citizens do not realize that there is a limited and fragmented radio spectrum available to public safety agencies and organizations. This is a huge challenge when it comes to solving the communication problem.
Radio spectrum is a valuable and finite national resource and the frequencies are shared between public safety officials, broadcasters, commercial consumers and others. While the Federal Communications Commission has assigned certain frequencies to public safety, there is not enough bandwidth. Public safety organizations must operate in 10 separate radio frequencies and this adds to the fragmentation problem.
Relief will occur one day…but the problem, which is huge, will not see a quick fix because of problems such as these.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc., a 15-year-old procurement consulting and procurement research firm headquartered in Austin, Texas.
