What's New

Sean O'Hara's presentation in Ottawa Canada at the Spectrum 20/20 conference discusses spectrum challenges and broadband uses in public safety. Posted May 12, 2008
By this order, the Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), on delegated authority, establishes a reconfigured 800 MHz band plan in the U.S. - Canada border regions in order to accomplish the Commission's goals for band reconfiguration. We also establish a 30-month transition period for completion of rebanding in the U.S. - Canada border regions, which will commence 60 days after the effective date of this order. Posted May 12, 2008
NPSTC presented a strategic initiatives presentation to the International Association of Chiefs of Police IACP, Law Enforcement Information Management training conference in Nashville to include information on Border initiatives, Low Power Television, Narrowband relocation and more. Posted May 12, 2008
John Powell Presents at the Public Safety Communication Summit in DC
John Powell, NPSTC Interoperability Committee Chair and SDR Forum Board of Directors, presented at the Public Safety Communication Summit in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2008.  He addressed several topics on Interoperability, including Statewide Communications Interoperability Plans (SCIP), Broadband Interoperability, and Software Define Radios, to mention a few. Posted April 30, 2008
Jack Daniel Presents at APCO's Western Conference
Jack Daniel presented the new NPSTC white paper and its appendices on in-building communications best practices at APCO's Western Conference that was held in Albuquerque, NM, on March 30-April 2. Posted April 15, 2008
NPSTC's Executive Director Speaks at CITIG Interoperability Workshop
Marilyn Ward, NPSTC’s Executive Director, presented at CITIG’s Interoperability Workshop that was held in Ottawa, Ontario on March 27 and 28, 2008.  Topics included Border Issues, In-Building Communications, and a Nationwide Broadband Network to mention a few. Posted April 15, 2008
Nominations Now Being Accepted!!!
Richard DeMello Award - Each year NPSTC presents an award to one individual in public safety communications who has demonstrated the highest levels of personal and professional conduct and performance in the local, state and national public safety communications arena. The award was named to honor the achievements of Richard DeMello, one of the founding fathers of NPSTC. The award is sponsored by and presented during the Annual Awards Banquet of the Radio Club of America and this year will be held on November 21st in New York City.

We encourage your participation to help us identify this year’s honoree. Nominations will be accepted through June 1, 2008 and a vote to determine the 2008 recipient will be conducted during the June Governing Board meeting in Arlington, VA. Posted March 5, 2008
NPSTC Presents at IWCE
NPSTC held a panel presentation at IWCE 2008 on Thursday, February 28, 2008 discussing ‘Current Events and Activities in Public Safety Communications’. Topics included in-building coverage, broadband, vocoder issues (with sample audio), border issues, channel naming, and plain talk, just to mention a few. Posted March 5, 2008
The Office of Emergency Communications released its bulletin Office of Emergency Communications Bulletin: Dec 2007 - Jan 2008 Posted January 18, 2007
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Communications Releases the ‘National Interoperability Field Operations Guide’
The National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG) is a collection of technical reference material for radio technicians responsible for radios that will be used in disaster response applications. Posted November 13, 2007
Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Announces an Extension of the Deadline for 700 MHz Regional Planning Committees to Amend 700 MHz Narrowband Plans from November 23, 2007 to January 31, 2008. Posted November 13, 2007
The Office of Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) launched a pilot project on September 25, 2007 in DC that will field-test the integration of new broadband technologies with existing emergency responder two-way radio systems. Posted October 25, 2007
Public safety and homeland security Bureau announces The availability of revised channelization plans for the consolidated 700 MHz public safety narrowband spectrum. Posted October 25, 2007
The Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee Meeting was held on July 18, 2007, and the presentations and final recommendations are now available. Posted October 10, 2007
On September 24, 2007 the FCC released the Order on Reconsideration and changed the requirements for the Public Safety Broadband Licensee (PSBL) makeup that were contained in the Second Report and Order that was released on August 10, 2007. Posted October 10, 2007
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a Fact Sheet regarding its newly launched Radio Over Wireless Broadband (ROW-B) Project. Posted September 28, 2007
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a press release announcing its launch of Radio Over Wireless Broadband (ROW-B) project. Posted September 28, 2007
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) representatives met with Chief Derek Poarch of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) on August 28, 2007 to discuss the FCC’s 700 MHz Second Report and Order and its impact on public safety agencies. During this discussion the FCC encourages all public safety agencies that have deployed or are in the process of deploying a 700 MHz system to file a waiver request ASAP. Posted September 4, 2007
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) has created this timeline to assist public safety in better understanding the chain of events required in the 700 MHz Second Report and Order.
Posted September 4, 2007
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) representatives met with Chief Derek Poarch of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) on August 28, 2007 to discuss the FCC’s 700 MHz Second Report and Order and its impact on public safety agencies. During this discussion the FCC encourages all public safety agencies that have deployed or are in the process of deploying a 700 MHz system to file a waiver request ASAP. Posted September 4, 2007
Emergency Response Leaders Develop Proposal for Nationwide Plan for Interoperable Communications
Posted August 29, 2007

NPSTC gave a presentation  at IWCE to brief the Public Safety Communications Community on the latest news and activities that have been taking place.
Posted April 13, 2007

SAFECOM and NPSTC hosted a Statewide Planning Workshop that was held March 21-23, 2007 in Los Angeles, CA. The purpose of the Statewide Planning workshop was to provide State Interoperability Coordinators with the relevant guidance and tools to assist them in developing statewide interoperability plans. Several resources are now available on the SAFECOM website to further assist the State Interoperability Coordinators with their plans.
Posted April 13, 2007

Richard DeMello Public Safety Communications Award
NPSTC presents one annual award to an individual in public safety communications who has demonstrated the highest levels of personal and professional conduct and performance in the local, state and national public safety communications arena. Nominations from the technical and operational segments of the community will be accepted. The final decision will be made at the NPSTC meeting on June 13, 2007 in Denver, Colorado by the NPSTC Governing Board, after reviewing the nomination.

Please fill out this Nomination Packet and submit to NPSTC@highlands-group.com prior to June 1, 2007 to nominate this year's recipient of the Richard DeMello Public Safety Communications Award to be presented this fall in New York during the Radio Club of America’s annual banquet November 16, 2007.
Posted March 12, 2007

SAFECOM is sponsoring a Statewide Planning Workshop hosted by the National Governors Association (NGA) and National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC). The Workshop will be held March 21-23, 2007 in Los Angeles. All 50 states, U.S. Territories and D.C are invited to participate. Each governor will be invited to designate a five-member team which includes state and local practitioners and policy makers. The Workshop will provide technical assistance on statewide planning and addressing the statewide plan criteria. 

We wanted to alert you that the letter of invitation to Governors  was mailed late, last week with an application form  and a copy of the Statewide Planning Criteria. These documents are attached for your reference.

While the Workshop is by invitation only (Governors’ Team Leads will select attendees), we would like to alert the emergency responder community to its existence and provide assistance to Governors in responding to the invitation. Those interested in attending the Workshop should contact their Governors’ offices directly. For questions or concerns, please contact Erin Lee at NGA (elee@nga.org) or 202-624-5392.
Posted January 19, 2007

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