Police and fire agencies tend to purchase radios, cameras, and other communications equipment based on their local needs.
Unfortunately, this equipment may not always be of high enough quality or be able to communicate with other agencies.
Until several years ago, there were no technical standard requirements for emergency communications equipment. ITS’ goal
in conducting audio and video research is to help develop communications standards based on the needs of public safety
practitioners.
The identification of audio/video quality parameters is part of a larger effort to develop a comprehensive Statement of
Requirements (SoR) for public safety communications. ITS is developing the SoR for the public safety community, which reviews
and approves the work, and even participates in the research as incident experts and subjective test subjects.
The public safety SoR is supported by representatives of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the
International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials, International
(APCO), the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Directors, the National Public Safety
Telecommunications Council, and others. A number of Federal organizations are funding the work, most notably the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security's SAFECOM Program and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of
Law Enforcement Standards.
Test Location:
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) in Boulder, Colorado
Check back soon for details of the next subjective test cycle.
