WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced the release of two (2) Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) draft Compliance Assessment Bulletins (CABs) for a public comment period through December 20, 2016.

Project 25 (P25) develops standards for interoperable land mobile radio (LMR) systems that facilitate the exchange critical communications across agencies and jurisdictions of the first responder community.  P25 also standardizes interfaces between the various components of the LMR systems emergency responders' use.  Through a well-defined testing process with publicly published results, P25 CAP aims to provide public safety agencies with evidence that the equipment is tested against and complies with standards for performance, conformance, and interoperability.

Equipment suppliers who elect to participate in the voluntary P25 CAP must formally demonstrate their products' compliance with a select group of requirements within the P25 suite of standards.  In addition to outlining test procedures, compliance assessment bulletins also cover topics such as guidelines for the creation of a Supplier's Declaration of Compliance (SDoC) and Summary Test Report (STR) documents.  To demonstrate product compliance, participating suppliers submit SDoC and STR documents to DHS S&T for review and approval of eligibility for grant procurement.

The two recent draft compliance assessment bulletins posted for public comment include Phase II Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Common Air Interface, which connects subscriber units on trunked systems, and the Console Sub-System Interface, which digitally connects dispatch console systems to P25 trunked systems.  These two new compliance assessment bulletins expand the P25 CAP's testing scope ultimately resulting in a more diverse set of equipment becoming a part of the program.

After the comment period, DHS S&T will review comments, incorporate feedback, as appropriate, and finalize the compliance assessment bulletins.  Once the compliance assessment bulletins are finalized they will be posted to the S&T First Responders website and officially become part of the P25 CAP.

For more information, visit /science-and-technology/p25-cap.