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Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program Verifying Interoperability for Project 25 Systems Introduction Public safety agencies are challenged with keeping communities safe and protecting the lives of their officers. Often it requires agencies to work not only within their jurisdictions or agencies but also across multiple jurisdictions and agencies. Interoperable communications is critical to coordinating joint and immediate response. The public safety community and mission critical land mobile communication providers have been working hand in hand for many years and have developed the Project 25 (P25) standards for mission critical communications. Project 25 systems have been available since the late 1990’s. Today there are over 200 P25 systems deployed, with thousands of agencies using approximately 1 million P25 radios.

Project 25 Standard Project 25 refers to a suite of TIA other mission critical users depend on these (Telecommunication Industry Association) products everyday to protect their communities. standards for communications. Public safety users and Project 25 equipment Project 25 has a variety of interfaces and manufacturers work together to define the services. Multiple manufacturers support functionality and interfaces needed to be the P25 over-the-air interface, called the standardized to ensure interoperability between P25 Common-Air-Interface (CAI), which multiple Project 25 equipment manufacturers. allows P25 infrastructure to support multiple manufacturer’s P25 radios. The CAI is the initial “Project 25 (P25), is supported by industry, focus of the P25 Compliance Assessment government agencies, and public safety Program. communications officials alike, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal, state, and local public safety users National Communications System (NCS), the procure radio networks and subscribers Department of Defense, and the National designed to the Project 25 standard to enable Telecommunications and Information interoperability and multi-vendor sourcing. Administration (NTIA).1” Project 25 networks and subscribers are the life-line of our public safety users across North America. These officers, firefighters, and

1 TIA website on Project 25

2 WHITE PAPER: Project 25 Standard Compliance Assessment Program Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program Public safety customers want multi-vendor Board then issues a Compliance Assessment sourcing so they can purchase one Bulletin (CAB) where the TSB is used as the manufacturer’s Project 25 Infrastructure basis for the creation of a CAB. After a CAB and a variety of manufacturer’s Project 25 is issued, NIST/OLES will assess labs to subscribers. and other manufactures conduct the testing in the CAB. Department of have invested significant technical resources Homeland Security (DHS) will then recognize to develop P25 and TIA standard documents labs based on the assessments that NIST/ to enable standard based interoperable OLES conducted. Once a lab is recognized it communications. Motorola believes that can conduct that particular type of P25 CAP the entire community is best served with testing that they were recognized to conduct. a rigourous and standardized approach to Based on the test results of a recognized verifying interoperability. lab a manufacturer may create and issue a formal Summary Test Report and SDoC The subset of tests that P25/TIA considers (Suppliers Declaration of Compliance). These appropriate to support interoperable documents provide information about a specific communications are outlined by the manufacturer’s P25 equipment functionality and Telecommunication System Bulletins (TBS) the types of “P25 Compliance” relevant to that published by TIA. The P25 CAP Governing equipment.

P25 Compliance Types

ty pe of air Mode of ty pe of Category ty pe of p25 ++++wire-line interface interface/ Operation equipment of testing = Compliance service

ph1 FDMa Conventional Subscriber performance, Otar, CSSi or or or Conformance, iSSi, etc. ph2 tDMa tr unking Base radio or interoperability ph2 tDMa There are several specific types of P25 compliance designated by the variables outline above. For example, a specific product may be a P25 Phase 1 CAI Trunked Subscriber Interoperability Compliant offering.

Interoperability Event Motorola hosted an Interoperability Event January The tests executed were those specified by 12th–16th 2009. This event tested EFJohnson the Telecommunications Service Bulletin (TSB) Technologies, Tait Radio Communications, for “Recommended Compliance Assessment Technisonic Industries, and Tyco Electronics Tests—Trunking Interoperability” (TSB-102.CBBJ) subscribers on Motorola’s Project 25 ASTRO 25 and the Baseline Testing Requirements Compliance system infrastructure. Assessment Bulletin (CAB) available on the Department of Homeland SAFECOM website2 Motorola and other Project 25 manufacturers held section 2.1.3.2. These tests are determined by the interoperability event prior to lab recognition public safety users and Project 25 equipment because they understand public safety customer’s manufacturers to be the standardized functionality immediate need for documented proof of needed to ensure interoperability between multiple interoperability. manufacturer’s Project 25 equipment.

2 http://www.safecomprogram.gov/SAFECOM/currentprojects/project25cap/project25cap.htm

3 WHITE PAPER: Project 25 Standard Compliance Assessment Program Motorola’s Commitment to Project 25 Motorola and other Project 25 manufacturers our customers, industry, government and understand the importance of having standards standards partners to ensure that the P25 to ensure interoperability among multiple P25 standard achieves its stated interoperability systems and manufactured equipment and objectives. have invested significant technical resources With over 200 systems deployed, Motorola’s to develop P25 and TIA standard documents ASTRO 25 Conventional and Trunking Solutions, to enable standards based interoperable designed to the Project 25 Standard are communications. Motorola believes that meeting our customers’ needs for mission the entire community is best served with a critical communication. In addition, Motorola rigorous and standardized approach to verifying continues to demonstrate its commitment interoperability. and confidence in the Project 25 standards Motorola is supporting and implementing the by offering for sale the next P25 standard P25 Compliance Assessment Program and is capabilities, ISSI and Phase 2 TDMA, two currently institutionalizing the P25 Compliance important additions to the ASTRO 25 platform. Assessment Program in our product For more information: development, testing, and factory procedures. www.motorola.com/project 25 Motorola is dedicated to working closely with

Other sources of information you may find helpful: Department of Homeland Security SAFECOM www.safecomprogram.gov/SAFECOM/ NIST – National institute of Standards & technology – Office of Law Enforcement Standards www.eeel.nist.gov/oles/ APCO – Association of Public Safety Communication Officers www.apco911.org/ Public Safety Interoperable Communication (PSIC) Grant Program www.ntia.doc.gov/psic/

Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) www.project25.org TIA (Telecommunication Industry Association) www.tiaonline.org/standards/

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