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A multi-agency project aimed at creating a wireless communications network that would connect police and other emergency responders across jurisdictions could lose a chunk of its federal allowance in fiscal 2008, according to House and Senate appropriations committee reports.

The Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury departments already have spent $195 million on the program, which could have a $5 billion price tag by 2021, according to some estimates. It has also gained the attention of Justice's inspector general.

The initiative would update outdated land-mobile radio systems by incorporating cellular telephones and walkie-talkies to provide reliable, secure wireless capabilities for 81,000 agents nationwide. But a March IG report drew attention to its "disparate funding mechanisms" and inadequate documentation.

The integrated wireless network, known as IWN, is currently one of the most expensive items in Justice's information technology basket and it is at high risk of failure, the report stated. Unless the deficiencies are addressed, such a system "may not be developed and the resulting separate agency communications systems may not be adequate in the event of another terrorist attack or natural disaster."

The House-passed appropriations bill, H.R. 3093, would fund the project at $81.3 million -- the same as the agency's budget estimate. But the Senate measure, S. 1745, would provide $76.3 million. The program got $89 million in fiscal 2007.

In the Senate committee report, lawmakers expressed concern about "lagging progress, as well as the recurring costs of the conversion" to narrowband operations. The panel also noted that an aging infrastructure has been an impediment to implementation.

Despite six years of development and a heap of money, the project resulted in some test systems, but law enforcement agents have received little by way of new, secure, compliant radio equipment, the IG report said. The program's collapse "would represent a significant missed opportunity" for federal, state and local agencies, officials added.

In Justice's response, the agency admitted IWN "has clearly not progressed as rapidly as desired" but said the report did not accurately reflect progress that has been made. Justice bought thousands of new digital radios and launched interoperability channels in 10 cities that facilitate communication between counterparts in federal, state and local agencies.

Pennsylvania Democrat Christopher Carney, chairman of the House Homeland Security oversight subcommittee told Technology Daily that "the 'I' in IWN must have meaning if this system is going to work." The program will never be integrated if coordination is not improved, he said.

But federal agencies that would benefit from IWN "are suffering from the same frustrations as local public-safety agencies when it comes to replacing obsolete communications systems with reliable ones," said Charlottesville, Va., Fire Chief Charles Werner, a member of the Homeland Security Department's SafeCom executive committee.

"Agencies have very significant communications needs today," but preparedness dollars are dwindling, he said. "I truly hope they find a way to meet their communications needs -- they are a very deserving group of dedicated federal agents."

COMMENTS

• Upgrading to narrowband communications is not enough. Both the 9/11 Commission Report and the “Failure of Initiative” report on Katrina note significant problems with both interoperability and operability. Without effective communications, there is no command and control, and limited intelligence. So whether it is a massive earthquake response led by FEMA or dirty bomb response led by the FBI, everyone needs to be able to talk in an orderly manner. We still hear about Border Patrol agents that lack appropriate radio coverage. The government has spent millions in grants for interoperable communications, yet as in Katrina, the grant dollars were made useless by the massive destruction. It is during the worst of disasters that interoperable communications are needed the most. It is a key ingredient to an efficient response to a terrorist incident or natural disaster. IWN needs to create a mobile surge capability that can rapidly provide a few thousand first responders with communications, while over time consolidating the numerous antiquated and expensive radio networks of multiple agencies –which will ultimately save the taxpayers’ money. Taxpayer Posted August 20, 2007 2:02 PM
• There is no need for the federal government to expend this kind of money. The reason is that there are two different issues here: First is the issue of interoperabiltiy which can be met using a variety of operational approaches and equipment for much less. Second is the issue of narrowbanding which has been on the "radar" of the respective first responder agencies for at least ten years. The feds may need to pay for the former, but the cost of the latter can and should be borne by the local governments.Time to pull the plug on this boondoggle. Concerned Citizen Posted August 18, 2007 12:11 PM