§195 Office for Interoperability and Compatibility

Summary

The Director must lead work to improve emergency communications. They must help the Secretary with the science and technology parts of the emergency communications program. They must work with the FCC, NIST, and other agencies to support national voluntary standards for interoperable emergency communications. They must create and run research, testing, and evaluation programs. They must set requirements for interoperable capabilities for all public-safety radio and data systems and equipment bought with the Department’s homeland security aid, and those requirements must be nonproprietary when standards exist (alert and warning devices are excluded). They must test new technologies in real settings, promote efficient use of equipment, work with private companies, and carry out the Department’s SAFECOM research and standards duties. With the Director for Emergency Communications, they must run pilots to demonstrate data and video tools that help responders keep communicating during disasters and improve interoperability. The Director must coordinate with the Director for Emergency Communications on SAFECOM matters. The Secretary must give the Office the staff and resources it needs to do this work.