US invests $430m in radio infrastructure, not training

Saturday, 01 December, 2012

The US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) components personnel have invested US$430 million in equipment, infrastructure and maintenance to meet communication requirements.

However, only one of 479 radio users tested could actually access and communicate using the specific common channel, according to the report ‘DHS’ Oversight of Interoperable Communications’.

The audit was conducted by the Office of Inspector General between March 2011-March 2012.

Of the 478 users, 72% were not aware of the channel, 25% could not find it and 3% found a legacy common channel that had been transferred from the Department of Treasury when DHS formed in 2003.

DHS radios tested	DHS common channel	Federal interoperability channel
Did not contain common frequency	54%	29%
Contained the common frequency, however one or more program settings were not in accordance with the defined interoperability settings	26%	45%
Contained all the correct program settings, including the name	20%	26%

The report states that of the 382 radios tested, only 20% contained all the correct program settings for the common channel. All radios were capable of interoperability; however, radios were not programmed correctly.

One of the problems uncovered in the audit was that the component personnel did not program channel names according to guidance or did not define channel names. The 99 radios that contained the DHS common frequency used 23 name variations.

The DHS has tried to manage these radio issues, unsuccessfully, since its inception in 2003 with the established National Wireless Management Office, which was in charge of developing policies.

There were name changes and further groups established over time but according to the report, “The multiple management and organisational changes hindered DHS’ ability to provide effective oversight.”

The latest group, the Joint Wireless Program Management Office, or JWPMO, has been said to have no authority to implement and enforce standardised policies and procedures.

The DHS has agreed to a recommendation to “develop and disseminate policies and procedures to standardise department-wide radio activities, including program settings such as naming conventions to ensure interoperability”.

However, like all government department issues, this problem may take many more years to overcome.