DHS Approves Eight Labs To Test Emergency Responder Radios For Standards Compliance

Washington -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) announced a major milestone this week in the quest for interoperability among the nation's emergency response community. The Department has formally approved eight laboratories as part of the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) – which will provide more than 60,000 emergency response agencies nationwide with a consistent and traceable method to gather P25 compliance information on the products they buy.

Managed in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Office of Law Enforcement Standards and a coalition of emergency responders and communications equipment manufacturers, the P25 CAP establishes an independent compliance assessment process to ensure communications equipment interoperates, conforms to P25 standards, and meets performance requirements. P25 standards allow radios to interoperate regardless of manufacturer, thereby enabling emergency responders to communicate as necessary.

"Recognized labs are essential to the success of the P25 CAP program," said Dr. David Boyd, Director of the Command, Control and Interoperability Division within the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. "Until now, emergency response agencies have purchased and used equipment developed by disparate manufacturers. P25 CAP will, for the first time, allow the emergency response community to be confident that the equipment they purchase is, in fact, interoperable."

Recognized labs include:
Compliance Testing LLC dba Flom Test Lab; Chandler, AZ
EF Johnson Technologies; Irving, TX
Motorola ASTRO System Integration & Test Laboratory; Schaumburg, IL
Motorola GP25 HEC-PITEC Schaumburg; Schaumburg, IL
Motorola P25 Performance CAI Subscriber Compliance Laboratory; Plantation, FL
Tait Electronics Ltd Teltest Laboratories; Christchurch, New Zealand
TIMCO Engineering, Inc.; Newberry, FL
Tyco Electronics – Wireless Systems; Lynchburg, VA

The test laboratories demonstrated their competence through a rigorous and objective assessment process based on internationally-accepted standards. Laboratory assessments began in December 2008 and continued through April 2009.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Homeland Security