This study began as an attempt to define the role of and suggest improvements for the management of the national Communications System, an Organization President Kennedy formed in 1963 to develop a unified and interoperable Government telecommunications system capable of providing necessary communications to the Federal Government under all possible circumstances, including nuclear war. The results were to be implementable by the manager of the National Communications System. This research was redirected to also conceive an organization capable of implementing reforms.

The need appears increasingly urgent for timely decisions by policy makers on new infrastructure for emergency communications and spectrum allocation for public safety radios. Contents of this report: (1) Goals and Challenges: Background: Planning to Meet Goals;Challenges and Barriers to Change; (2) Policy Considerations for the Future: Governance and Grants; Decision Making and Planning Authority: Federal Involvement; State and Local Involvement; Commercial Involvement; Role of the Emergency Response Interoperability Center and the Public Safety Spectrum Trust; Cost Estimates: Wireless Networks; Network Infrastructure: Wireless Backhaul and NG9-1-1; Radios; Network Access; Financial Resources; Managing Radio Frequency Spectrum; Technology: Networks; Radios; Migration to Commercial Technologies; (3) Legislation in the 112th Congress to Improve Emergency Communications; (4) Conclusion; (5) Appendixes: Proposals for Spectrum Assignment; Congressional Efforts on Behalf of Public Safety Communications. Figures. This is a print on demand report.

Every day in cities and towns across the Nation, emergency response personnel respond to incidents of varying scope and magnitude. Their ability to communicate in real time is critical to establishing command and control at the scene of an emergency, to maintaining event situational awareness, and to operating overall within a broad range of incidents. However, as numerous after-action reports and national assessments have revealed, there are still communications deficiencies that affect the ability of responders to manage routine incidents and support responses to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other incidents. Recognizing the need for an overarching emergency communications strategy to address these shortfalls, Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) to develop the first National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP). Title XVIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 United States Code 101 et seq.), as amended, calls for the NECP to be developed in coordination with stakeholders from all levels of government and from the private sector. In response, DHS worked with stakeholders from Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies to develop the NECP—a strategic plan that establishes a national vision for the future state of emergency communications. To realize this national vision and meet these goals, the NECP established the following seven objectives for improving emergency communications for the Nation's Federal, State, local, and tribal emergency responders: 1. Formal decision-making structures and clearly defined leadership roles coordinate emergency communications capabilities. 2. Federal emergency communications programs and initiatives are collaborative across agencies and aligned to achieve national goals. 3. Emergency responders employ common planning and operational protocols to effectively use their resources and personnel. 4. Emerging technologies are integrated with current emergency communications capabilities through standards implementation, research and development, and testing and evaluation. 5. Emergency responders have shared approaches to training and exercises, improved technical expertise, and enhanced response capabilities. 6. All levels of government drive long-term advancements in emergency communications through integrated strategic planning procedures, appropriate resource allocations, and public-private partnerships. 7. The Nation has integrated preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery capabilities to communicate during significant events. The NECP also provides recommended initiatives and milestones to guide emergency response providers and relevant government officials in making measurable improvements in emergency communications capabilities. The NECP recommendations help to guide, but do not dictate, the distribution of homeland security funds to improve emergency communications at the Federal, State, and local levels, and to support the NECP implementation. Communications investments are among the most significant, substantial, and long-lasting capital investments that agencies make; in addition, technological innovations for emergency communications are constantly evolving at a rapid pace. With these realities in mind, DHS recognizes that the emergency response community will realize this national vision in stages, as agencies invest in new communications systems and as new technologies emerge.

Reviews domestic telecommunications policy and technologies that support emergency communications. Analyzes national security, emergency preparedness, NS/EP telecommunications objectives and derives technical and non-technical attributes of NS/EP telecommunications capability. Examines implications of recent policy and regulatory developments regarding U>S telecommunications.