p25

PUBLIC SAFETY
SOLUTIONS
Communication Solutions You Can Rely On

Project 25: A roadmap for the future of digital radio

In 1988, the FCC, at the direction of Congress, published a NOI (Notice of Inquiry) on radio technologies for public safety. Comments and reply comments were received and published in 1989.
A large group of users, vendors and others (many commenters on the FCC NOI noted above) met in Washington DC in December 1989 to discuss "Public Safety Digital Radio". This group, spearheaded by the leaders of OARPS, formed a coalition that included APCO, NASTD, and federal government users. The coalition decided to revisit the issue of radio system standards, but this time with an eye toward:

* New digital technologies
* Interoperability between different systems and manufacturers
* Easier migration to new systems as users' needs change and improved
technologies become available

This effort was named Project 25.

Today, you can buy a digital radio solution that complies with an industry standard that allows systems to interoperate, without regard to who the manufacturer is. The benefits are obvious:

* Coordinate communications with other agencies and jurisdictions.
* Purchase radios and other equipment from more than one vendor.
* Upgrade or migrate systems without replacing all your equipment.
* Share resources with other organizations to control costs.

Project 25.pdf