Project 25 Technology Interest Group Welcomes a New Member, LocusUSA
The Project 25 Technology Interest Group is pleased to welcome a new member to the organization. LocusUSA has developed a radio analyzer that can analyze Project 25 subscriber radios over the air. LocusUSA is an engineering and software development company located on the Space Coast of Florida since 2001. Their focus is research in the area of RF capture for location and analysis. The ability to capture and analyze the characteristics of the radio waveform led to the development of its DiagnostX systemthat can ascertain the alignment and other key metrics of a radio, Over-The-Air (OTA) in real time. LocusUSA supports government customers across the US and Canada on the local, state and federal levels with this first-of-its-kind, proactive tool, ensuring the optimal performance of their radio systems.
For more information on Locus USA and their products contact:
Jim Zaleta, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 321-727-3077, X110
Project 25 Technology Interest Group Releases a New Whitepaper:
Technology Benefits of P25
Over the years, the most often selected article on the Project 25 website is the one describing Technology Benefits of P25. This article has been recently updated to include the new wireline interfaces (ISSI, CSSI, FSI) and new operational capabilities recently added to the P25 suite of standards.
The Whitepaper covers the background and history of the P25 Standard, original goals and objectives, a summary overview of the standards and how they translate into benefits for the Public Safety community. A copy of the complete whitepaper can be downloaded using the following link
From the beginning, P25 has targeted four primary objectives:
Allow effective, efficient, and reliable intra-agency and inter-agency communications … so organizations can easily implement interoperable and seamless joint communication in both routine and emergency circumstances.
Ensure competition in system life cycle procurements … so agencies can choose from multiple vendors and products, ultimately saving money and gaining the freedom to select from the widest range of equipment and features.
Provide user-friendly equipment … so users can take full advantage of their radios’ lifesaving capabilities on the job – even under adverse conditions – with minimal training.
Improve radio spectrum efficiency … so networks will have enough capacity to handle calls and allow room for growth, even in areas where the spectrum is crowded and it’s difficult for agencies to obtain licenses for additional radio frequencies.
P25 Benefits Delivered
Ability to Meet In the Air
Interoperability Among Agencies
Interoperability Among Vendors
Spectral Efficiency
Integrated Voice and Data Services
Scalable Secure Systems using Conventional and Trunking in all LMR bands.
Competition from 34 suppliers of P25 Products and Services
PTIG publishes P25 Steering Committee Bylaws
Details
The Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) has published the complete P25 Steering Committee By-laws as an information resource for the P25 User Community.
Project 25 is a unique user-driven process created to establish current and emerging wireless communications standards that meet the requirements of the public safety community. In this standards development process, Project 25 is directly involved with users and manufacturers. It also involved the development of a partnership with the TIA. Using the TIA Engineering Manual, TIA may develop a suite of technical standards, telecommunications system bulletins and technical white papers that enable the development, manufacture and operation of interoperable Project 25 communications systems and system components that satisfy the Project 25 adopted requirements.
Subsequent to signing the MOU, in 1993 APCO officially changed its name to the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, Inc. In 2007, NASTD officially changed its name to the National Association of State Technology Directors. The formal relationship with TIA was established through the execution of a MOU that outlines the responsibilities and obligations of both parties and the framework that TIA and Project 25 agreed to work within.
A key element of the MOU is the clear understanding that the Project 25 Steering Committee may choose to select any standards proposal, telecommunications system bulletin, or white paper as a P25 Standard, but a TIA/Project 25 standard can only be created in accordance with the TIA-approved Engineering Manual, policies, and rules and regulations that coincide with the requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) process for Standards Development Organizations (SDO).
The Project 25 Standards Process is based on users determining the functionality and critical interfaces that require standardization to ensure interoperability among Project 25 system components produced by any manufacturer. While it is a user driven process, it is done in cooperation with industry to ensure both the expectations and deliverables can be achieved. These functionalities and interface requirements are documented in the Project 25 Statement of Requirements (P25 SOR). The P25 SOR is in turn approved and maintained by the P25 Steering Committee. Formal standard documents are developed, balloted, published, and maintained by the TR-8 Mobile and Personal Private Radio Standards Committee of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
The P25 Steering Committee By-law document can be accessed using the link below:
Government Wireless Network | Queensland, Australia
Government Wireless Network
The Government Wireless Network (GWN) provides public safety agencies with a fully integrated, secure digital radio communications network for mission-critical voice, radio and data communications across the greater Brisbane and South East Queensland region in Queensland, Australia.
Operating in the 400MHz Harmonised Government Spectrum – specifically the 420-430MHz frequency band (Band 5), the network brings agencies onto the same radio communications platform to assist in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of frontline operations.
Queensland is adopting Project 25 (P25) Phase 2 technology for the GWN. Utilising P25 Phase 2 technology, the network provides the highest levels of radio communications availability, reliability, security and clarity via a fully fault-tolerant architecture.
The Queensland Government, Telstra Corporation Limited and Motorola Solutions Australia have formed a successful partnership to design and deliver a secure, fully integrated government radio communications network.
Full implementation of the GWN and operational transition of Queensland’s police, fire and ambulance services will be completed by June 2016. When complete, the network will service more than 17,500 frontline police and emergency services personnel in South East Queensland.
Delivery
The Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation is delivering the GWN in partnership with Queensland Police Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and Queensland Ambulance Service to ensure the solution meets operational requirements and fully integrates with other dispatch systems.
Telstra Corporation Limited, with its public safety strategic solutions supplier Motorola Solutions Australia, is responsible for the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of the GWN under a 15-year managed service agreement with the Queensland Government.
Mingara Australasia is the Queensland Government technical advisor for the GWN and their extensive experience in specifying, planning and delivering similar radio communications networks in other Australian and international jurisdictions has been a major contributor to the success of the GWN.
With a total contract value of $515 million, the GWN is one of the largest public sector ICT ‘as-a-service’ arrangements currently being delivered in Australia.
GWN for the G20
The Brisbane G20 Leaders’ Summit held in November 2014 was the largest peacetime security operation ever held in Australia. The network played a vital role in the G20 by maximising public safety agency response capability and providing secure and interoperable mobile radio communications.
The GWN set a new Australian benchmark in inter-agency interoperability, encryption and frontline officer safety. About 9,750 Queensland police, fire and ambulance personnel and 500 national and international security specialists relied on the GWN wireless capability to ensure the safety of 20 world leaders, 43 international diplomats, 4,000 delegates and 3,000 domestic and international media, as well as the general public and issue-motivated protest groups.
South East Queensland implementation
The South East Queensland implementation of the GWN is the largest single deployment of Project 25 Phase 2 technology in the world, with 179 radio base station sites built and commissioned.
The GWN provides 99% coverage of the South East Queensland population across an area of 30,000 square kilometres stretching from Tweed Heads in the south, Oakey in the west and Gympie in the north. The extensive coverage of the GWN provides public safety agencies with vastly improved radio communications reach into the community.
The GWN is being delivered in stages with full implementation of the network to be completed by June 2016. A staged approach means implementation is more manageable for public safety agencies, particularly from a training and organisational change perspective.
A close and productive relationship between the Queensland Government, Telstra and Motorola, and public safety agencies has allowed for the seamless flow of deliverables and interdependencies. As a result, operational transition to the GWN in stages 1 and 2 has been a resounding success.
For a project of this size, scale, complexity and importance, highly effective planning, good operational readiness and an integrated approach have been key factors of its success.
ISSI and CSSI interface
The GWN has been equipped and licenced with a range of P25 features and functionality, however two key features have been provided to facilitate interconnection to external P25 systems and consoles. These are the ISSI and CSSI interfaces. As the CSSI feature set is predominantly a subset of the ISSI, GWN testing of the ISSI interface was also seen as satisfying the CSSI testing requirement.
The GWN is provided with an off-line facility or ‘sand pit’ which fully replicates the production system and hence non-disruptive ISSI interface testing with third party P25 systems was able to be tested. This testing was successful, however the process proved invaluable as it highlighted a large range of network configuration settings, terminal ID requirements and P25 feature sets that need to be known and set up correctly before ISSI links can be permitted between two or more P25 production network. These lessons learned are invaluable and can be used to assist mitigating any connectivity risks into the future.
Network scalability
The network and contract has been designed to be scalable to allow for the expansion of GWN coverage and capacity to other locations in Queensland and to other users.
There is potential to expand the GWN to allow other government agencies, such as the State Emergency Service, and local government to use it. However, at this stage, the government has only committed to deliver the network for Queensland’s public safety agencies operating in South East Queensland.
A copy of this Article can be downloaded using the link below:
P25 Latest Standards Update from January TIA Meetings
Details
The Project 25 Technology Interest group is releasing a P25 Standards Update report from the most recent TIA TR-8 meetings held in late January in San Diego California
This report is authored by Andy Davis the Chairman of TIA TR-8 The report highlights TR-8 accomplishments and work in progress for 2016. The document will be updated after every TR-8 face to face meeting occurring in 2016. The filename reflects the date of the latest update. After the first 2016 version, each update will use blue font to indicate the updates.
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