Interoperability in the context of public safety communications systems  refers to the ability of first responders to communicate with whomever  they need to (including personnel from a variety of agencies and  jurisdictions), when they need to, and when they are authorized to do so. DHS has taken steps  to address these recommendations. DHS Assistance Has Helped on Specific Interoperability Projects, but a More Strategic Approach Is Needed

According to DHS, $2.15 billion in grant funding was awarded to states and  localities from fiscal year 2003 through fiscal year 2005 for  communications interoperability enhancements. This funding, along with  technical assistance, has helped to make improvements on a variety of  specific interoperability projects. Further, although DHS has required states to implement statewide plans  by the end of 2007, no process has been established for ensuring that  states’ grant requests are consistent with their statewide plans. Until DHS  takes a more strategic approach to improving interoperable  communications—such as including in its decision making an assessment  of how grant requests align with statewide communications plans—and  until more rigorous exercises are conducted, progress by states and  localities in improving interoperability is likely to be impeded. Recent Progress Has Been Made in Developing Interoperability Standards, but Early Implementation Has Had Unsatisfactory Results

Until recently, little progress had been made in developing Project 25  standards—a suite of national standards that are intended to enable  interoperability among the communications products of different vendors. Although one of the eight major subsets of standards was defined in the  project’s first 4 years (from 1989 to 1993), from 1993 through 2005, no  additional standards were completed that could be used by a vendor to  develop elements of a Project 25 compliant system. To its credit, over the  past 2 years, the private-sector coordinating body responsible for Project  25 has defined specifications for three additional subsets of standards. However, ambiguities in the published standards have led to  incompatibilities among products made by different vendors, and no  compliance testing has been conducted to ensure vendors’ products are  interoperable. Nevertheless, DHS has strongly encouraged state and local  agencies to use grant funding to purchase Project 25 radios, which are  substantially more expensive than non-Project 25 radios. As a result, states  and local agencies have purchased fewer, more expensive radios, which  still may not be interoperable and thus may provide them with minimal  additional benefits. Recommendations for Executive Action

To better ensure that progress is made in improving interoperable  communications among federal, state, and local first responders, we  recommend that the Secretary of Homeland Security take the following  five actions:    assess how states’ grant requests support their statewide communications  plans and include the assessment as a factor in making DHS grant  allocation decisions;   plan for new full-scale exercises for UASI areas that provides local  officials with sufficient time to develop and implement exercises to  validate the robustness and effectiveness of their tactical interoperable  communications plans;    develop and implement a program plan for SAFECOM and other OEC  interoperability programs that includes goals focused on improving  interoperability among all levels of government;  include in the program plan for SAFECOM and other OEC interoperability  programs quantifiable performance measures that can be used to  determine the extent to which each of the goals have been accomplished  and that can be used to assess the effectiveness and usefulness of  SAFECOM tools, assistance, and outreach, and make improvements based  on the feedback; and   modify grant guidance to provide more flexibility in purchasing  communications equipment until standards for completed interfaces have  been fully defined and products have been certified compliant. To determine the extent to which DHS funding and technical assistance  helped to improve interoperable communication in these states, we  reviewed documentation and interviewed state and local officials from  selected states.
Why GAO Did This Study

As the first to respond to natural disasters, domestic terrorism, and other emergencies, public safety agencies rely on timely communications across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. It is vital to the safety and effectiveness of first responders that their electronic communications systems enable them to communicate with whomever they need to, when they need to, and when they are authorized to do so. GAO was asked to determine, among other things, (1) the extent to which Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding and technical assistance has helped to improve interoperable communications in selected states and (2) the progress that has been made in the development and implementation of interoperable communications standards. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed grant information, documentation of selected states' and localities' interoperability projects, and standards documents.

What GAO Found

According to DHS, $2.15 billion in grant funding was awarded to states and localities from 2003 through 2005 for communications interoperability enhancements. This funding, along with technical assistance, has helped to make improvements on a variety of specific interoperability projects. However, states that GAO reviewed had generally not used strategic plans to guide investments toward broadly improving interoperability. Further, no national plan was in place to coordinate investments across states. To its credit, DHS has required states to implement a statewide plan by the end of 2007, and DHS has recently been required to implement a National Emergency Communications Plan. However, no process has been established for ensuring that states' grant requests are consistent with their statewide plans. Until DHS takes a more strategic approach to improving interoperable communications--such as including in its decision making an assessment of how grant requests align with statewide communications plans--progress by states and localities in improving interoperability is likely to be impeded. Until recently, the private-sector coordinating body responsible for developing Project 25 standards--a suite of national standards intended to enable interoperability among the communications products of different vendors--has made little progress. Although one of the eight major subsets of standards was defined in the project's first 4 years (from 1989 to 1993), from 1993 through 2005, no additional standards were completed that could be used to develop Project 25 products. Specifications for three additional subsets of standards were defined over the past 2 years. However, ambiguities in the published standards have led to incompatibilities among products made by different vendors, and no compliance testing has been conducted to determine if these products are interoperable. Nevertheless, DHS has strongly encouraged state and local agencies to use grant funding to purchase Project 25 radios, which are substantially more expensive than non-Project 25 radios. As a result, states and local agencies have purchased fewer, more expensive radios that still may not be interoperable and thus may provide few added benefits. Until DHS modifies its grant guidance to provide more flexibility in purchasing communications equipment, states and localities are likely to continue to purchase expensive equipment that provides them with minimal additional benefits.