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Study Explores Need for Public Safety Inoperability

July 11, 2007

Lack of radio interoperability is a major concern in the Public Safety sector, according to an 84-page study commissioned by the Software Defined Radio (SDR) Forum. The study, "The US Public Safety Market," was based on interviews with public safety communications officials from around the United States. It provides a comprehensive look at a market consisting of federal, state, and local agencies; city, county, and regional jurisdictions; and police, fire, and emergency medical functions. The report points out that these subsectors have traditionally maintained their own public land mobile radio (PLMR) systems but that the systems were incompatible with each other. The use of software-defined-radio (SDR) technology has the potential to meet the communications needs of each organization while providing much needed compatibility.

SDR Forum (www.sdrforum.org)

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.