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Question: Is Project 25 “Public Safety Grade”?

The Answer: Yes!!

In simple terms, Public Safety Grade (PSG) equipment, systems or networks are those that provide the communication capabilities required by the operators and users of the equipment with availability and reliability exceeding that typically provided by commercial communication equipment, systems and networks. Project 25 in many ways establishes the foundation for implementing Public Safety Grade systems and equipment, and therefore we can say YES to the question “Is Project 25 Public Safety Grade?” The full discussion in this document provides comprehensive support for that answer.

Background

In response to the release of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council paper titled:
“Defining Public Safety Grade Systems and Facilities”, The Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) was approached with questions such as:

“Is Project 25 Public Safety Grade?” and

“What does “Public Safety Grade” mean in 100 words or less?”

The resulting discussions among the manufacturers, technologists and Public Safety Communication Agency user representatives within the Project 25 Technology Interest Group revealed that coming up with a single and concise answer, that everyone will accept, is a difficult task. As an aid to these types of discussions, this whitepaper highlights aspects of the Project 25 suite of standards that contribute to creating Public Safety Grade communications equipment, systems and networks.

By defining “Public Safety” as; the collection of Federal, State, Local and Tribal agencies tasked with keeping the public safe, it becomes apparent that the communication needs of these people are diverse and can be unique from the communication needs of the general public. In fact, depending on the respective missions and operating environments, the communication needs of one Public Safety agency can be quite different than the needs of another Public Safety agency.

A link to open the Full Whitepaper is below:

PTIG Whitepaper: Is Project 25 Public Safety Grade?

Details: 29 February 2016

The Project 25 Technology Interest Group recognizes a significant milestone in the deployment and acceptance for the new P25 Console Sub-System Interface (CSSI). Zetron’s Acom integrated dispatch system products utilizing the TIA Project 25 (P25) CSSI have logged more than 5 million hours of successful operation at customer sites throughout North and South America and Australia. This clearly shows the fast acceptance and continued growth for the relatively new P25 CSSI console interface standard. The Acom product can link both Project 25 Phase 1 and Project 25 Phase 2 systems from a variety of P25 infrastructure manufacturers including:

Motorola (Phase I and II)

Harris (Phase I and II)

Airbus

Tait

EF Johnson

Codan

“Exceeding 5 million hours of successful CSSI operation is yet another demonstration of our ongoing commitment to supporting P25 Standards and technology” said Zetron President and CEO, Ellen O’Hara. “It also underscores our continuing dedication to delivering solutions that provide cross-system compatibility and offer a wide range of equipment choices in Project 25 Systems”

Additional information can be found by following the link below:

Acom

Details: 05 February 2016

New P25 Paging Solution to Improve Communications for First Responders in Michigan

By: Brad Stoddard

State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget,Lansing MI

A new public safety paging technology solution that will allow emergency personnel across Michigan to use a single system for both two-way radio and paging is now available. The P25 paging capability – the first of its kind – will operate on Michigan’s Public Safety Communications System.

Currently, MPSCS subscribers may need two separate systems to dispatch emergency crews, one for the radios they use at the scene of an incident and another for the pagers that summon emergency responders. This new technology will provide both functions in one single system. Additionally, the new solution will notify first responders if they are out of communication range, a confirmation the current method does not provide.

“In an emergency, every second is critical to life-saving activity,” said Brad Stoddard, MPSCS director. “The efficiency created by combining radio and paging into one system will get emergency responders to an accident scene faster, which will save lives.”

The MPSCS is one of the largest single public safety communications system in North America, providing interoperable voice and data communications to 1,493 local, state, federal, tribal and private public safety agencies. MPSCS has strategically partnered with Unication, a worldwide leader in designing and manufacturing of critical messaging technology, to bring this state of the art P25 paging solution to fruition. “This partnership has allowed us to bring a paging solution, that has been missing from the P25 landscape for many years, first to the citizens of Michigan and then to the global P25 marketplace.” said Kirk Alland, Vice President and General Manager of Unication USA.

The MPSCS has already worked with state, local and private agencies to test the new paging solution.

The MPSCS, a part of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, has received both national and international recognition as the standard for large and multiple partner land mobile radio systems. The system spans nearly 60,000 square miles and includes 246 tower sites with more than 60 integrated local and state public safety dispatch centers and a network communications center that serves more than 74,000 radios.

More information about the MPSCS can be found at www.michigan.gov/mpscs and more information about Unication and the G4 P25 Voice Pager can be found at www.unicationusa.com

Details: 18 January 2016

The Project 25 Technology Interest Group publishes a new White Paper on Automatic Roaming in a P25 Radio System.

The paper was authored by Andy Davis: Chairman TIA TR-8, Senior Resource Manager - Motorola Solutions and Bill Janky:Director System Design - Harris Corporation.

The term Automatic Roaming is sometimes misunderstood. There are two methods of roaming that are often discussed in P25 and informally referred to as “automatic” and “manual’. Both roaming methods have unique aspects that mainly affect two areas – user experience, and identity management.

From the perspective of the user, “automatic roaming” refers to the radio’s ability to move from the coverage of one RF site to another without user intervention (or often even user knowledge) and the ability of a radio to move from the operational area of one system to the operational area of another system without changing the operating identities (individual and/or group) of the radio.

The User Experience and Identity Management aspects of roaming are described in detail in the full article that can be accessed via the link below:

Automatic Roaming in a P25 Radio System

Details: 11 January 2016

The Project 25 Technology Interest Group has released an Update on the Project 25 Suite of Standards. The update is based on activity at the TIA TR-8 Standards Meetings held October 2015 In Austin TX. The report was prepared by Andy Davis Chairman of the TIA TR-8 Committee. The next TIA TR-8 P25 Standards Meetings will be held January 26-28, 2016 in San Diego CA.

A link to the report is found below:

P25 Standards Update October 2015