[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 117 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29220-29221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14491]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY


Science and Technology Directorate; Notice of Public Meeting of 
the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program Governing Board

AGENCY: Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office for 
Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) will hold a public meeting of 
its Project 25 (P25) Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) Governing 
Board (GB). The P25 CAP GB is composed of public sector officials who 
are involved in the procurement of P25 equipment. The purpose of the 
meeting is to collect comments from individual P25 CAP GB members on 
the proposed Compliance

[[Page 29221]]

Assessment Bulletins (CABs). Additionally, comments are sought on the 
inclusion of tests for the P25 Inter-Radio Frequency Subsystem 
Interface (ISSI) in the P25 CAP process.
    The proposed CABs will be posted on http://www.safecomprogram.gov. 
Public comments on these documents and the Program are encouraged and 
will be collected through the Web site prior to the meeting. Public 
comments will also be received during the session, as time permits. DHS 
OIC will post details of the meeting, including the agenda, ten 
business days in advance of the meeting at http://www.safecomprogram.gov. The Supplementary Information in this Notice 
provides background information on the P25 suite of standards and the 
establishment of the P25 CAP.

DATES: The meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 23, 2009, from 1 
p.m. to 2 p.m. (EST).

ADDRESSES: The session will take place via conference call. To 
participate, please send an e-mail to [email protected] by June 22, 
2009, for access information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luke Berndt, Department of Homeland 
Security, Science and Technology Directorate, Office for 
Interoperability and Compatibility, Washington Navy Yard, 245 Murray 
Lane, SW., Building 410, Washington, DC 20528. Telephone: 
(202) 254-5332. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Emergency responders--emergency medical 
technicians, fire personnel, and law enforcement officers--need to 
seamlessly exchange communications across disciplines and jurisdictions 
in order to successfully respond to day-to-day incidents and large-
scale emergencies. P25 focuses on developing standards that allow 
radios and other components to interoperate, regardless of the 
manufacturer. In turn, these standards enable emergency responders to 
seamlessly exchange critical communications with other disciplines and 
jurisdictions.
    An initial goal of P25 is to specify formal standards for 
interfaces between the components of a land mobile radio (LMR) system. 
LMR systems are commonly used by emergency responders in portable 
handheld and mobile vehicle-mounted devices. Although formal standards 
are being developed, no process is currently in place to confirm that 
LMR equipment advertised as P25-compliant meets all aspects of P25 
standards.
    To address discrepancies between P25 standards and industry 
equipment, Congress passed legislation calling for the creation of the 
P25 CAP. The P25 CAP is a partnership between the DHS Command, Control 
and Interoperability Division; the U.S. Department of Commerce's 
National Institute of Standards and Technology; industry; and the 
emergency response community.
    The P25 CAP provides an independent process for evaluating P25 
equipment for standards compliance and interoperability across 
manufacturers. By providing manufacturers with a method to test their 
equipment for compliance with P25 standards, the P25 CAP helps 
emergency response officials make informed purchasing decisions.
    The P25 CAP requires test laboratories to demonstrate their 
competence through a rigorous and objective assessment process. Such a 
process promotes the user community's confidence in, and acceptance of, 
test results from DHS-recognized laboratories. All equipment suppliers 
that participate in the P25 CAP must use recognized laboratories to 
conduct performance, conformance, and interoperability tests on their 
products. P25 equipment suppliers will release Summary Test Reports and 
Suppliers Declarations of Compliance based on testing from laboratories 
recognized by DHS. This documentation will assure the public that P25 
equipment complies with established standards.
    Created by DHS OIC, CABs describe how the P25 CAP operates and 
address issues related to the Program. The scope of a CAB can range 
from policy to guidance, covering issues such as specific test 
standards to be used for a particular P25 interface, or P25 LMR Request 
for Proposal guidance. During the upcoming meeting, updates to two CABs 
will be discussed. The CAB updates are as follows:
     Summary Test Report Requirements--This CAB has been 
updated to include the identification of which vocoder is present in 
the product being tested. The format of the document has been 
restructured in order to accommodate additional P25 interfaces that 
will be added to the Program in the future.
     Supplier's Declaration of Compliance Requirements--This 
CAB has been updated to include the identification of which vocoder is 
present in the product being tested.
    Draft versions of these two CABs are available at: http://www.safecomprogram.gov. Public comments on the updates to these 
documents are encouraged and can be submitted through the Web site 
prior to the meeting.
    There will be additional discussion on the creation of a new CAB 
regarding the inclusion of the ISSI interface in the Program. 
Discussion will focus on the timeline for inclusion of the interface as 
well as which tests should be required. Public comments on this topic 
can be submitted through the Web site prior to the meeting. Public 
comments will also be received during the session, as time permits.
    More information about the P25 CAP is available at http://www.safecomprogram.gov.

    Dated: June 8, 2009.
Bradley I. Buswell,
Under Secretary (Acting), Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E9-14491 Filed 6-18-09; 8:45 am]
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