Federal Law Enforcement Wireless Users Group (FLEWUG) Information Briefing

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Federal Law Enforcement Wireless Users Group
(FLEWUG) Information Briefing For
Wireless Innovations in Communications
Initiative Meeting May 9, 2000 Washington, D.C.
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Information Briefing Objectives. . . The
Objective of Todays Briefing Is to Provide a
Better Understanding of Future User Requirements
for Federal Agencies With Public Safety Missions.
. .

• The briefing will
• Provide an overview of FLEWUG
• Define what is meant by federal public safety
• Outline the operational environment of federal
  public safety agencies
• Highlight some developing trends
• Provide an overview of the operational
  requirements of federal public safety agencies
• Describe spectrum issues relating to federal
  public safety
• Provide some points to ponder

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What Is FLEWUG?. . .

About Federal Law Enforcement Wireless Users
Group. . .

• FLEWUG was formally established through a
  National Performance Review Information
  Technology Initiative (IT04), which resulted in a
  1994 Memorandum of Understanding between the
  Department of Justice and the Department of the
  Treasury
• Key among FLEWUGs objectives is to plan and
  coordinate future, shared-use, wireless
  communications systems and resources. Toward this
  end, FLEWUG supports
• The development of shared-resource, shared-use
  wireless communications systems
• The efficient use of the spectrum
• The implementation of interoperability among
  local, state, and federal public safety agencies
• The membership of FLEWUG consists of more than 30
  federal departments and agencies with law
  enforcement and other public safety
  responsibilities

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What Is Federal Public Safety?. . .

About Federal Public Safety. . .

• Federal agencies that support public safety
  missions include
• Department of Agriculture National
  Communications System
• Department of Defense National Institute of
  Standards and Technology
• Department of Health and Human Services
  National Park Service
• Department of the Interior National Security
  Agency
• Department of Justice National
  Telecommunications and
• Department of State Information
  Administration
• Department of the Treasury United States
  Capitol Police
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
  United States Coast Guard
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing United
  States Customs Service
• Bureau of Land Management United States Fish
  and Wildlife Service
• Defense Information Systems Agency United
  States Forest Service
• Drug Enforcement Administration United States
  Marshals Service
• Federal Bureau of Investigation United States
  Mint
• Federal Bureau of Prisons United States Park
  Police
• Federal Emergency Management Agency United
  States Postal Inspection Service
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
  United States Postal Service
• Immigration and Naturalization Service United
  States Secret Service

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Operational Environment. . .
The Diverse Missions of Federal Agencies Create a
Unique and Challenging Operational Environment .
. .
Federal National/International
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Operational Environment. . .
In General, Federal Agencies Operate Nationwide
and Must Contend With a Variety of Missions . . .
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Given the Necessity for Nationwide Coverage,
Federal Agencies Encounter Diverse Geographic
Terrain and Population Densities. . .

Operational Environment. . .
. . . Challenges Such as These Have Significant
Implications on Federal Wireless Communications
Requirements
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In Addition, the Prevalence of Joint Missions and
the Need for Interoperability Among Federal
Agencies Is Increasing. . .

Operational Environment. . .

• Day-to-Day Interoperability involves coordination
  during routine public safety operations
• Mutual Aid Interoperability involves a joint and
  immediate response to catastrophic accidents or
  natural disasters and requires tactical
  communications among numerous groups of public
  safety personnel
• Task Force Interoperability involves local,
  state, and federal agencies coming together for
  an extended period of time to address a public
  safety problem

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Federal Agencies Also Face a Number of Emerging
Challenges. . .

Emerging Challenges. . .

• Increasing number and frequency of joint missions
• Diminishing critical resources (i.e., funding,
  spectrum, personnel) and existing infrastructure
  obsolescence
• Systems security
• Standards development and availability of
  standards-compliant equipment

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Recent Events, Evolving Technology, and Changing
Mission Requirements Are Producing Interesting
Trends . . .

Developing Trends. . .

• Incidents such as the Oklahoma City Bombing,
  fugitive manhunts in North Carolina, and the
  Florida wild fires demonstrate the critical need
  for coordinated, interoperable wireless
  communications between federal entities and their
  state and local counterparts
• Federal public safety agents are becoming more
  technologically sophisticated as advances in
  technology and software applications reshape
  day-to-day operations
• Actions by the Office of Management and Budget
  (OMB) and National Telecommunications and
  Information Administration (NTIA) are requiring
  federal agencies to make more effective use of
  limited spectrum and funding resources
• Changing mission requirements are prompting
  federal agencies to increase the number of agents
  in their organizations

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Future Federal Public Safety Requirements Depend
on The Ability of Public Safety Personnel to
Effectively Communicate and Share Information. .
.
Operational Requirements. . .Interoperability. .
.

• Interoperability between and among public safety
  personnel is a top priority as collaboration
  among different federal, state, and local public
  safety organizations increase
• The development of standards and open systems
  architectures must be addressed as technology
  moves from analog to digital transmission
• Backward compatibility with state and local
  public safety, who are not moving as quickly to
  switch out their systems, must also be addressed
  to achieve or maintain interoperability in many
  areas

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Federal Mandates and Regulatory Policies Are
Driving a Number of Operational Requirements. . .

Operational Requirements. . .Policy Drivers. . .

• An NTIA mandate requires federal agencies to make
  more efficient use of radio spectrum (narrowband)
• Very High Frequency (VHF) band by January 2005
• Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band by January 2008
• Congress has mandated significant amounts of
  federal spectrum be reallocated for other uses
  (e.g., commercial auctions) forcing federal
  agencies to do more with less
• OMB and Congress are encouraging federal agencies
  to make more efficient use of funds
• Maximize resource sharing through the use of
  consolidated infrastructures and the development
  of shared systems
• Maximize use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
  technology and equipment

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The Nature and Diversity of Federal Public Safety
Missions Also Provide Unique Requirements. . .

Operational Requirements. . .Mission Needs. . .

• An increasing number of public safety missions
  operate in a portable environment
• The size, weight, and battery capacity of
  portable equipment is of concern
• Equipment needs to be infrastructure independent
  (absence of infrastructure) as public safety
  personnel work in several different regions of
  the country
• The need for multi-mode/multi-band radios is
  increasing
• The current spectrum allocated for public safety
  use is located in nine discrete portions of the
  radio spectrum
• The use of multiple frequency bands by public
  safety agencies operating in the same geographic
  regions further complicates interoperability and
  joint response communications

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The Nature and Diversity of Federal Public Safety
Missions Also Provide Unique Requirements
(Cont). . .

Operational Requirements. . .Mission Needs. . .

• Most law enforcement activities require security
  (i.e., encrypted communications)
• There is increasing need for wireless data
  exchange between public safety personnel in the
  field (e.g., NCIC 2000)
• Emergency and crisis events require the need for
  instantaneous voice communications

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Spectrum Developments. . .
Recent Spectrum Policy Developments Provide New
Opportunities to Improve Interoperability Among
Public Safety Agencies. . .

• The FCC has allocated 24 MHz of new public safety
  spectrum in the 700 MHz band
• FCC rules are being developed for voice and data
  applications in the 700 MHz band with
  recommendations provided by the NCC
• Spectrum allocation includes designation of 2.6
  MHz for interoperability
• The FLEWUG promotes rules allowing co-equal
  access, which can be thought of as a new user
  category that allows federal use of this spectrum
  for the purpose of developing shared,
  interoperable wireless systems

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Spectrum Developments. . .
Acquiring Additional Spectrum for Public Safety
and Improving Rules to Allow Sharing and
Interoperability Are Key Objectives. . .

• The recent allocation of 24 MHz of spectrum in
  the 700 MHz band is much needed, but is not
  enough and may not be available in certain areas
  where it is most needed (densely populated areas)
• An additional 73.5 MHz of spectrum are required
  to satisfy the mobile communication needs of the
  public safety community
• Spectrum management rules should more easily
  allow interoperability and shared systems among
  government at all levels

Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee
Final Report, September 11, 1996.
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In Closing, FLEWUG Welcomes the Opportunity to
Work With Industry to Address Several Key Issues
and Promote the Development of Innovative
Wireless Communications Technologies. . .

Points to Ponder. . .

• The slow rate of private (non-commercial) LMR
  standards development is hampering the
  implementation of interoperability, product
  choice in the marketplace, and curtailing cost
  competitiveness
• Forward compatibility among standards-compliant
  equipment is essential so that todays
  investments maintain their value as technology
  advances
• Backward compatibility among standards-compliant
  equipment is also important to ensure that
  technology advances do not introduce additional
  interoperability problems
• Switching technology and other products that
  allow for systems-to-systems interconnections are
  critical to interoperability and cost-effective
  redundancy
• Continued advances in systems architectures and
  product features to make more efficient use of
  spectrum remain important

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In Closing, FLEWUG Welcomes the Opportunity to
Work With Industry to Address Several Key Issues
and Promote the Development of Innovative
Wireless Communications Technologies (Cont). . .

Points to Ponder. . .

• Commercial services can be better used by the
  public safety community to enhance private LMR
  systems capabilities to the extent that the
  following issues are addressed
• Priority access is afforded to public safety
  personnel
• The availability of commercial services in less
  populous areas where public safety agencies are
  required to operate
• Near instantaneous connectivity is provided to
  public safety personnel during emergency and
  crisis situations
• Security measures and encryption are provided
  that meet minimum federal requirements