[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9625-9627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3839]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Presentation of Final Conventional Conformance Test Criteria and 
Common Air Interface (CAI) Features/Functionalities Under Test in the 
Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program and Meeting To Seek Comment on 
Conventional Conformance Tests for Inclusion in the Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST), Law Enforcement Standards Office 
(OLES), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC), will hold a 
public meeting on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 1 p.m. Mountain Time, via 
teleconference. The purpose of the meeting is to present the final 
criteria for assessing the suitability of P25 Compliance Assessment 
Program (CAP) conventional conformance tests, as well as the final, 
prioritized list of features and functionalities that will require 
conformance testing in the P25 CAP.

[[Page 9626]]


DATES: The meeting will be held via teleconference from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. 
Mountain Time on Thursday, March 15, 2012. Members of the public 
wishing to attend the meeting must register by 5 p.m. Mountain Time on 
Monday, March 12, 2012. Please see registration instructions in the 
ADDRESSES section below. In addition, comments regarding the topics and 
material covered during the meeting will be accepted until 5 p.m. 
Mountain Time on Monday, April 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting must 
register by 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Monday, March 12, 2012 by sending 
an email request to Dereck Orr at [email protected] or via phone at 
303-497-5400. To present comments orally at the meeting and to submit 
written comments, please see instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION SECTION below. The draft conformance tests to be discussed 
at the meeting may be found at: http://www.pscr.gov/outreach/safecom/p25_cap/downloads/downloads.php.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dereck Orr, Department of Commerce, 
NIST, 300 Broadway St., Boulder, CO 80305. Telephone: (303) 497-5400. 
Email: [email protected]. More information about DHS/OIC can be found 
at http://www.safecomprogram.gov.

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, DHS and NIST established the P25 CAP. The P25 CAP is a 
partnership between the DHS/OIC, NIST, 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 consistently 
test their equipment for compliance with P25 standards and consistently 
report the results of such testing, the P25 CAP provides emergency 
response officials with increased confidence that their land mobile 
radio equipment adheres to the P25 standards.
    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 voluntarily participating in the P25 
CAP will release Summary Test Reports and Suppliers' Declarations of 
Compliance based on testing from laboratories recognized by DHS.
    Created by DHS/OIC, Compliance Assessment Bulletins (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.
    The purpose of this notice and related meeting is to present the 
final requirements for CAI conventional conformance tests for inclusion 
in the P25 CAP.
    The final list of criteria to be used for assessing a CAI 
conventional conformance test's suitability for inclusion in the P25 
CAP is below:
     Conformance tests should limit devices in the test 
environment to the device under test and appropriate, validated test 
equipment (i.e., non-products);
     All packet types should be tested that are relevant to the 
functionality under test;
     All call/message types tested should be relevant to the 
functionality under test;
     Packet/message order should be checked relevant to the 
functionality under test;
     All information and reserved fields should be tested 
within message packets relevant to the functionality under test;
     For all information fields relevant to the feature under 
test, there should be a linearly independent set of values used across 
the entire allowable range including special meaning or reserved 
values;
     Where behavior of a product is specified for parameter 
values outside of the normal or permissible range, those values should 
be tested. Where behavior is not specified, explicit pass/fail criteria 
should be included;
     Timing between subsequent packets should be identified in 
cases where, if not within defined parameters, the test or the 
anticipated response would result in inconsistent or erroneous test 
results;
     All of the different combinations of status bits should be 
tested where relevant to a feature under test;
     The test should define the detailed procedural steps and 
expected results necessary for a test operator to perform the test 
consistently across multiple laboratories;
     The test procedure should accommodate evaluation of a test 
article's behavior where multiple defined responses are possible;
     If capable, each unit under test should perform the roles 
of both transmitter and receiver during the test;
     The test should provide definitive predictive outcomes 
(behaviors) for all articles under test.
    Through this notice, NIST is also presenting this prioritized list 
of features and functionalities that will require testing conformance 
in the P25 CAP:
    1. Conventional Squelch*
    2. Emergency alarm
    3. Emergency group voice call
    4. Group voice call
    5. Radio unit monitoring
    6. Transport of Talking Party Identification*
    7. Late Entry
    8. Location Services
    9. Radio unit inhibit/uninhibit
    10. Unaddressed voice call
    11. Encryption
    12. Over The Air Rekeying (OTAR)
    13. Emergency Cancel
    14. All Call

    * Note that Conventional Squelch and Transport of Talking Party 
Identification tests, included in the original list of features and 
functionalities, have been rolled into other tests as appropriate.

    At the meeting on Thursday, March 15, 2012, NIST will solicit input 
on the two draft conformance tests it has developed for inclusion in 
the P25 CAP. NIST has developed tests for Group Voice Call and Radio 
Unit Monitoring. These tests can be found at: http://www.pscr.gov/
outreach/safecom/

[[Page 9627]]

p25--cap/downloads/downloads.php. NIST will hear comment on these tests 
at the March 15 meeting and will continue to receive written comments 
until 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Monday, April 30, 2012.
    In addition to the two tests already developed, NIST is in the 
process of developing conformance tests for the following features and 
functionalities:
     Emergency Alarm
     Emergency Group Voice Call
     Unaddressed Voice Call
     Emergency Cancel
     All Call
    NIST is also seeking comments, suggestions, example tests that can 
be leveraged or new tests for the following list of features:
     Late Entry
     Location Services
     Radio Unit Inhibit/Uninhibit
     Encryption
     Over the Air Rekeying (OTAR)
    More information about the P25 CAP is available at http://www.safecomprogram.gov. More information about NIST/OLES can be found 
at http://www.nist.gov/oles/.
    Registration: Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting 
must register by 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Monday, March 12, 2012 by 
sending an email request to Dereck Orr at [email protected] or via 
phone at 303-497-5400.
    Oral Comments: There will be 40 minutes set aside for public 
comment. Members of the public wishing to provide oral comments during 
the meeting on Thursday, March 15, 2012 will be provided up to a total 
of 8 minutes each (dependent on the number of commenters), and the 
order of commenters will be based on the order in which the request to 
provide comments was received. Requests to make oral comments should be 
submitted to Dereck Orr by 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Monday, March 12, 
2012 via email at [email protected] or via phone at 303-497-5400.
    Written Comments: Comments also will be accepted electronically and 
may be emailed to [email protected]. Hard copies of comments may be 
mailed to Dereck Orr, Department of Commerce, NIST, Building 1, Room 
2209, 300 Broadway St., Boulder, CO 80305.

    Dated: February 13, 2012.
Willie E. May,
Associate Director for Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-3839 Filed 2-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P