PublicSafetyCommunications StanKetchum,PMP,CSM

TransitiontoDigitalSystems
PrimerforBusinessDecisionMakers

Overview of Changes in Radio Technologies, Expectations, and Usage

Foryearspublicsafetyagencieshavereliedupontwowayanaloglandmobileradiosystems
(LMRS)forroutineoperationsandincidentmanagementcommunications.Astimepassed
legacyLMRSinfrastructureshaveagedtothepointthatmanyarenowbeyondmaintenanceor
repair.Consequently,replacementincreasinglyisnolongeroptional,ithasbecomeanecessity.

TherateofreplacementoflegacyLMRSisgrowingyearly.Estimatesarethatby2020$35$50
billionwillbeinvestedworldwideinradiosystemsmostlyintheUnitedStates.Addingtothe
trendistheadoptionbytheFCCofnewstandardsencouragingandrequiringtransitionfrom
analogtodigitalsystems.Majoradvantagesofdigitalincludegreaterbandwidthcapacity,and
useofLongTermEvolution(LTE)technology.

IftheacronymLTEisafamiliarone,itmightbebecauseofsmartmobilephonesbasedonLTE
technology.LTEsfundamentaldifferentiatorisitsabilitytousedigitalsignals.LTEintegrates
sounds,videos,text,picturesviacomputerprogramming.JustasLTEhasovertakenplainold
telephones(POTS),nowitistransforming"plainoldradiosintocomputerizedcommunication
devices.

Analog
Analogsystemsarebroadlyacceptedbyagenciesandusersbecauseoftheirfamiliaritywiththe
systems.Radioasitstandstodayhasalongrelevancetopublicsafetyagenciesformeeting
missioncriticalcommunicationrequirements.Thecombinationofneedandfamiliarityhasled
toabroadtoleranceforthebuiltinlimitationsofanalog.

Andanalogdoeshavelimitationsthatcannotbeovercome.Itscallcapacityisofteninadequate
tomeettheneed,especiallyduringincidentresponse.Asanoutdatedtechnologyithas
becomedifficulttoprocurenewequipmentandpartstosustainoperations.Analogalsohas
littletonoabilitytotakeadvantageofGPS,transmissionusingInternetProtocol(IP);
encryption;multiplebandoperation;orinteroperabilitywithsystemsusedbyotheragencies.

Inshort,legacyanalogsystemsareverydifficulttomaintainorupdatetomeeteverchanging
communicationopportunitiesandneeds.

LTE
InessenceLTEhasallthecapabilitiesanalogdoesnot:
RadiooverInternetProtocol(RoIP)inwhichauthorizedusersareabletodirectlycall
anyotherauthorizeduseroverawideareanetwork.
 PublicSafetyCommunications StanKetchum,PMP,CSM
TransitiontoDigitalSystems
PrimerforBusinessDecisionMakers

WIFIRoIPalsosupportsotherwirelesstransmissiontechnologies(including
Bluetooth).
ScalableArchitecturesP25allowsforconstantgrowthinrangeandfeatures.
Greatlyincreasecallcapacity-- Analogallowsforonlyoneconversationatatime,
digitaltransmissionenablestwotofoursimultaneousconversationsthroughuseof
narrowbanding..1
Callanddataencryptionissupportedtoprotectsensitivedata,suchasprotected
healthinformation,tacticalinformationduringoperations,employeeinformationand
otherformsofinformationthatcurrentlymaybebroadcastinunprotectedmodes.
Overtheairprogramming(OTAP)Radiosmustbeprogrammedwiththefrequencies,
channels,talkgroups,microphonesettings,andvirtuallyeveryaspectoftheir
operations.Analogradiosprogrammingrequireslaborintensivemanualintervention,
whiledigitalprogrammingcanbeautomatedtooccurovertheairinstantaneously.

Someofthedownsidestothenewtechnologyare:
Itislessknownbytheusercommunitywhichcanleadtobumpyuseracceptance.
Voicestendtosoundthinandmorerobotic;signalscanbeproblematicalusually
surpassing,butsometimesstrugglingtomeetsignalrequirements;andselectedoptions
cantendtohaveunexpectedoutcomesallofwhichcanleadtoadoptionconfusion.
Thetechnicalcommunityisstilldevelopingtherichbodyofknowledgeandlessons
learnedneededtowardoffplanninganddeliverysurprises.Projectmanagersarealso
learning.Projectsplanningmustberethoughtbecausedigitalcomeswithnewbusiness
andtechnicaltolerancesaffectingeverythingfromcriticalpathplanning,cost,scope,
andriskandissuemanagement.
Lastly,thenewfeaturesoftensignificantlychangeradiouse,especiallyduringincidents.
Publicsafetypersonneldependuponlearninghowtousetheirequipmenttothepointof
"musclememory"inordertofocusoneventsaroundthem.Ittakestimetogainthatlevelof
practicewiththenewsystem.

A Final Thought
Thegreatestimpacttransitiontothenewtechnologieshasondecisionmakersistheextentto
whichitisITdriven.ThedegreeofthechangeandwhatitmeanstobeLMRScanbea
controversialtopic.HoweverwhatisundoubtableisaddingtheITcomponentisdrivingan
unprecedentedrateofradiodevelopment.Radiosystemsarenowundergoingunceasing
changesandsometimesunavoidableupgradecoststhatwillaffectpolicyandoperation
decisionsforyearstocome.

1
TheincreasedconversationsrelatetothetwoP25phases:Phase1whichdoublestheuseofanalogbandwidth,
andPhase2whichquadruplesit.