The fragmentation of public safety spectrum is a serious problem. The migration to 800 MHz and allocation of adjoining spectrum for public safety could greatly facilitate interoperability, and the national negotiation and adoption of interoperability standards, a widely recognized need, may serve as an impetus to hasten the shift to higher frequencies. On the other hand, this study also identified problems related to the shift toward greater use of 800 MHz by the larger agencies, a shift that is apparently facilitating interoperability for those that are on the system but isolating them from colleagues and neighboring jurisdictions that are not using 800 MHz. Also, the needs of some agencies are best served by conventional analog radios operating in low VHF, high VHF, or UHF bands. This study did not find a groundswell of support for national interoperability planning, but it did reveal some of the reasons why the vast majority of agencies prefer local planning.
Agencies interoperate primarily with other local organizations.
They have more confidence in their ability to handle all kinds of interoperability events with the organizations they interact with on a regular basis. Agencies that participate in joint training activities that involve other organizations and the actual use of communications equipment appear to be ahead of the game a bit, at least in so far as their confidence in their agency's ability to respond to interoperability situations. Written comments confirm the notion that critical incidents often spur communities into action and release funds for upgrading wireless communications systems. The cost of communications equipment appears to be contributing to the use of regionalized communications centers that cross jurisdictions and facilitate interoperability. This intent of this study was to provide data that could be used by policymakers at all levels, by agencies of all sizes and types.