NIST Advisory Committee Recommends Non-Profit Guide for Next-Gen Public Safety Communications Net |
National Institute of Standards & Technology
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USA
Press release date: February 7, 2012
Creation of a next-generation public safety communications network requires leadership from a single non-profit organization devoted to this purpose, according to a Jan. 31, 2012, report released by a federal advisory committee. Such a network would support voice, video and data transmissions, and ideally be at the disposal of all first responders-the medical, emergency, law enforcement or military personnel who are first on the scene of events that threaten public safety.
The report was released by the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), which reviews and makes policy recommendations to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST is engaged in the research supporting public safety communications and operates a testbed at its Boulder, Colo., campus. The committee held meetings and collected input from the communications and public safety communities, as well as the public.
Public safety communications reach across many geographical, jurisdictional and technological lines, involving federal, state and local agencies, as well as private organizations and even volunteers. All have different procedures, budgets and existing technologies that would need to be coordinated to create a communications solution for the entire country.
To meet this challenge, the committee recommends that a non-governmental, non-profit organization be charged with development of standards that would support creation of the network.
As a model, the report describes the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, which includes representatives from a large number of sectors with an interest in the next-generation power grid. According to the report, "that panel has been an effective mechanism for serious work on the elaboration of standards and requirements and identification of useful specifications for Smart Grid devices."
The committee envisions an organization that can establish "frameworks for cooperation that can build on common planning, standards, technology, budgeting and practices."
For more details, see the NIST Jan. 31 news announcement, "New Report Outlines Key Features of Next-Generation Public Safety Communications" at www.nist.gov/director/vcat/pubsafety_commreport_013112.cfm.
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