Emergency Communication Planning

And Project 25 (P-25)

Topics covered

1. Introduction
2. What is Project 25
3. Why do you need to be P-25 compliant
4. Equipment
1. HF ALE
2. Trunk system “vs” Conventional
5. Sample Emergency Communication Plan for a small independent agency
1. Daily requirements
2. Communication systems
3. The Communication Plan
6. Discussion Points for the Plan
1. Automation
2. Telecommunications
3. Priority calling cards and lines
4. Land Mobile Radio
5. Repeaters
6. Inter-agency operability
7. HF/ALE radios
7. Internet Resources

Introduction

After working with multiple state and federal agencies during California’s 2007 wildfire season, I was able to see which communication systems worked very well and where some of the problems were. I’ve included in this section some of my after action notes and some planning guidance for smaller agencies.

Project 25 (P-25) has been a major step forward for interoperability for multi agency communications.

What is Project 25 (P-25)

You will hear Project 25 referred to as P-25. Project 25 is a set of standards not a federal law. There are no FCC fines involved if you are not P-25 compliant, however you may be surprised in the near future when your frequency licenses are renewed that your bandwidth has been reduced from 25KHz to 12.5 KHz.  (See frequency management for more details.) Your agency can operate both P-25 equipment and your older “legacy” equipment at the same time. You do not need to cycle out 100% of your old equipment when you start to field your new P-25 equipment. This can be a gradual transition.

Project 25 was developed primarily for VHF and UHF equipment through the joint efforts of International and US Government agencies along with equipment manufactures with the primary focus on North America. The main goal is to allow different organizations and agencies to communicate during an emergency. When a manufacture states that its’ equipment is P-25 compliant they are telling you that the equipment can operate on both 25KHz the older analog “legacy radios” systems and 12.5 KHz the newer digital systems thus making it backwards compatible. A P-25 compliant radio will be able to transmit and receive in both analog and digital operating within the 12.5 KHz bandwidth and be compatible with any other manufacture’s P-25 compliant system.

There are three phases to P-25. The architects’ of P-25 understood that not all communities would be able to be P-25 compliant at the same time due to funding, and available supply. Which is why phases one and two are backwards compatible.

Phase one starts with fielding a generation of radios that are backwards compatible and can operate on 12.5KHz in both digital and analog.

Phase two is currently being developed with the goal of channels with a 6.25 KHz bandwidth, and defining a standard for one voice channel or a minimum 4800 bps data channel per 6.25 kHz bandwidth. Technology is moving very rapidly this goal may change.

Phase three will include standards for high-speed data and frequency hopping. Anything that will include type 1 encryption and frequency hopping will involve the NSA. There are agencies that want “type one” encryption and frequency hopping for their operations. If the NSA and FCC approved this it would require each agency that wanted these features to set-up and maintain a COMSEC account which can be very demanding on personnel resources.

Operating P25 Equipment with your existing Communication Equipment

If you already have a trunk system or repeaters in place to support your current communication system you may add P-25 compliant equipment to your network with no problems. Project 25 compliant radios will operate in the conventional analog mode. When a P-25 radio is operated in the digital mode the radio will convert your analog signal into digital and back again. A digital signal makes it easier to encrypt. If your agency wants to encrypt its’ signal do not invest in anything above “type three” encryption. You may purchase equipment that is “type one” encryption capable, but it is not a prudent investment. Type one encryption requires NSA approval and in most cases a COMSEC account even if you are generating your own key. The account establishes the rules and procedures for dealing with the “type one” encryption.

Project 25 compliant FM equipment can operate at 9600 bits per second. This is enough to send VOIP or Data. This is a benefit for field sites where tracking large amounts of information is essential such as tracking critical supplies or patients. You have the flexibility to link a laptop to a digital radio to share data with a distant end.

Why do you need to be P-25 compliant

1. Interoperability: The ability to communicate with other agencies during an emergency
2. Equipment support: The latest model equipment is P-25 compliant which means that parts and service will be available much longer then the older legacy equipment.
3. Greater versatility: P-25 equipment has more versatility with its’ ability to send and receive digital signals and interface with analog equipment.
4. Frequency Licenses: The frequency spectrum is getting crowded very quickly and the privilege to operate on a band width of 25 KHz is fleeting. It will not be long especially in major metropolitan areas where frequency licenses will be limited to 12.5 KHz band width making older equipment obsolete.

(See web links at the end of this article for more detailed information on Project 25)

Equipment

There has been some major advancements in technology in the past five years, buyer be ware! Remember no single system will solve all of your communication requirements or give you the redundancy you’ll need. An example is a salesman showed up trying to sell me a satellite phone stating it was the most advance system on the market. I ask a few very simple questions such-as could I use the very large transceiver he had with him, as a pipe to push multiple voice and data lines over. He said yes you can add as many phone lines as you want. I asked him what the data rate was and he told me 24K. My old dial up modem at home was a 56K. He then pulled out a handy-talkie and told me it was a model P-25 radio and it could talk to every system out there. I asked him if it covered the 2 to 30 MHz range he said yes. I looked at back it was a ¼ watt manufacture’s pre-set to four  VHF frequencies, basically good for coordinating a Saturday afternoon ball game. His Satellite phone was very antiquated and he couldn’t even guarantee bird time during an emergency.

Before you start investing money into equipment write down what your communication requirements are, and who you might be called upon to help. Then visit a sister agency and see what they have.

High Frequency (HF): ALE
Along with the development of technology that meets P-25 standards are the new developments in HF (High Frequency) technology. Many agencies were in the process of dumping their HF equipment and embracing satellite systems. The main reason was the lack of trained operators. It takes an individual who understands antenna systems and frequency selection to operate a HF radio at its’ optimum capacity. The new ALE technology has changed this and agencies are once again turning to HF as a back-up means of communications.

High Frequency (HF) can transmit over long distances without the aid of a repeater. The beauty of Automatic Line Establishment is it selects the best possible assigned frequency using LQA (Link quality analysis) to communicate on. A user can send data to the distant end by connecting a PC to both ends of the system or simply use it for voice. If you do elect to connect a PC to the HF/ALE system you can use the PC’s VOIP feature to expand it using some of the conferencing software available such as Adobe speaks. The new HF ALE equipment has several more unique features which include:

• Initiate a circuit with another station without human help
• Automatic signaling,
• Selective calling
• Automatic handshaking
• Channel scanning and selection,
• Link quality analysis (LQA),
• Polling,
• Sounding,
• Message store-and-forward,
• Address protection, and
• Anti-spoofing.
• Exchange of orderwire commands and messages

The biggest challenge to ALE is the requirement of frequencies. In years past an agency would be issued only a few HF frequencies good for different times of the year depending on the sun spot activity. For ALE to operate efficiently requires a large number of frequencies.

Currently there are only a few companies who manufacture HF radios with build in ALE. If you have an existing HF radio you can connect it to a PC and run ALE. This method may not be appropriate in an environment with a limited number of trained personnel. If your organization doesn’t have the resources to have trained personnel at the ready then purchase a HF radio with built in ALE and have your vendor rep program your radio with the proper information. The last thing you want to do in an emergency if look for the instruction manual.

One other note: When you purchase an HF ALE radio make sure it has the connectors you work with. Harris Corp makes a very nice high quality set, but all of its connectors are for military five pin twist connectors. Micom also makes a very high quality set with commercial connectors. Both are exceptional radios just make sure you purchase the one that will connect to the rest of your equipment.

(See web links at the end of this article for more detailed information on ALE)

Trunked System “vs” Conventional

When planning your purchase of VHF /UHF equipment you’ll need to decided between a tunked system or conventional. Most mid-size organizations use a conventional radio network because of the number of radios that enter the net are low and the cost of the system is more affordable. A conventional system is very simple to build and it usually serves a local area with a few repeaters. A local area could be as small as 30 acres or as large as the Los Angeles basin.

If you have a large number of radios using custom talk groups, multiple channels, limited number of frequencies, a network of repeaters that are linked together then you want to look into a trunked system. A trunked system utilizes a controller (a computer that talks to radios) in the infrastructure. Everything runs through the controller. The capability of a trunked system is limited only by the amount of funding you have available. Trunking systems are available for VHF / UHF equipment which is the most common for public safety and it is also available for the 220, 800 and 900 MHz bands, and in development a 700MHz system intended for use by public safety agencies.

The benefit of trunking to an organization is it makes maximum use of all available frequencies. If you have 10 assigned frequencies, and the first frequency is in use the trunk system will switch to the next available frequency. The idea behind a trunked system is not all frequencies are in use at the same time. This allows an agency to increase the number of users without having to purchase additional frequencies.

There are more advance trunked systems that can determine which repeater to use, mass broadcast, verify that a radio is allowed to use the system etc. For a radio to use a trunked system it must be programmed for that system to include any encryption. If a programmed radio is lost it compromises the integery of the whole system. To reprogram all of your radios can take up to 24 hours depending on how many and where the radios are at. Some advance trunk systems will allow you to enter the radio’s identification number into the controller, and the controller will block that radio’s access to the system. You have still lost an expensive radio, but the integery of your system is still intact.

Sample Emergency Communication Plan for a small independent agency
(Hospital, University campus, small city)

Hospitals and Universities have very similar communication requirements for daily operations and during times of emergencies. They are:

• Security
• Operations and Maintenance
• Emergency Operations
• Evacuation

Most organizations have VHF/UHF radios with repeaters and Cell Phones for their Security force, commercial land line telephone and cell phones for their operations, and VHF/UHF radios for their maintenance operations. There are many organizations that do not invest any further in their communication infrastructure which leaves them without a back-up system. The two additional systems that Hospitals and Universities should have are HF and Satellite. These two systems allow an organization to communicate outside the disaster zone to coordinate support. The following is the development and a proposed communication plan for a large University or Hospital.

Step one: determine the daily and emergency communication Requirements

Security:
Voice communications via telephone to other police agencies and departments
Fax communications via telephone to other police agencies and departments
Data: the ability to send and receive data via computer terminal
Access to the World Wide Web
Radio communications to security vehicles
Radio communications to security personnel on foot
Radio communication to other police agencies

Operations:
Voice communications via telephone to “customers” and departments
Fax communications via telephone to “customers” and departments
Data: the ability to send and receive data via computer terminal
Access to the World Wide Web
Radio communications to support vehicles (buses etc)
Radio communications to key personnel on foot (guides)

Maintenance Operations:
Voice communications via telephone to vendors, customers and departments
Fax communications via telephone to vendors, customers and departments
Data to send and receive data via computer terminal
Access to the World Wide Web
Radio communications to maintenance vehicles
Radio communications to maintenance personnel on foot

Emergency Operations:
Voice communications via telephone to key personnel, support agencies, families of customers, and departments
Fax communications via telephone to support agencies and departments
Data to send and receive data via computer terminal
Access to the World Wide Web
Create an informational website
Send and Receive Video
Radio communications with key vehicles
Radio communications to key personnel on foot
Radio communication to other support agencies
(The ability to accomplish all of the above independent of existing infrastructure)

Evacuation:
Voice communications via telephone to key personnel, support agencies, evacuation staging locations, evacuation receiving locations, and departments
Fax communications via telephone to support agencies, evacuation staging locations, evacuation receiving locations, and departments
Data to send and receive data via computer terminal
Access to the World Wide Web
Create an informational website
Radio communications with key vehicles
Radio communications to key personnel on foot
Radio communication to, evacuation staging locations, evacuation receiving locations, other support agencies
(The ability to all of the above independent of existing infrastructure)

Step Two: Develop communication systems that meet the needs in step one and sister organizations.

For this step I’m going to use a “PACE” chart for each type of communication system. PACE stands for Primary, Alternate, Continguency, Emergency. Here is a brief example:

Land Mobile Radio using JPS ACU 1000 to interface with other agency’s repeaters

The Communication Plan
Telecommunications:
We will maintain the state of the art automated telecommunications switch that allows for operator modifications. Using the switchboard as a corner stone we’ll add on additional equipment.

First addition: Install Radio Telephone interface equipment
Reason: Back-up cell phone system; Expanded communications capability for security force.
How: For each radio telephone line, install one repeater connected to a Zetron 30 World patch which is connected to the switch board. This will radio users to make phone calls via the institution’s switch board and for people to use their phones to call individuals with radios.

Second Addition: Install one HF / ALE radio with computer interface
Reason: Backup access to the World Wide Web; The ability to send data to a field site; Voice communication, and VOIP
How: Install on HF / ALE radio in the Institution’s EOC that is connected to a computer and the Institution’s network. Install a matching unit at an out of state sister institution.
This includes running RF cables and installing antennas.

Third Addition: KU Band satellite system
Reason: If all local commercial communication systems fail this provides redundancy
How: Team with a sister organization install a match set of KU band satellite systems connected to the organization’s telecommunication and automation center. During an emergency the organization at the disaster site will access communications via its’ sister organizations infrastructure.

Radio Communication system
VHF/UHF equipment phase out all radio equipment that doesn’t have a numeric key pad.
Reason: Radios with numeric key pads have greater versatility
How: Send radios in to be up-graded; Rotate out next life cycle replacement. Older radios can be use for contractors of maintenance services until the radio is unserviceable.
Install seven radio telephone interface units to support security
Reason: Greater communication capability
How: See telecommunications
Purchase radio programming unit
Reason greater on site flexibility can make custom talk groups without returning to the vendor.
Purchase 5 HF ALE base stations with USB ports and 5 mobile HF ALE sets with USB ports and antennas
Reason One HF ALE base station for each major location and one for the sister agency, mobile stations are for preplanned evacuation and receiving sites

Discussion Points for the Plan

Automation
We take access to the World Wide Web for granite because of the reliability of our telecommunication system. Do not expect to have access to the internet during the first 24 to 48 hours of a disaster. If your facilities survivies you should still have your Intra-net so you can share data at your location, but will not provide you with the information required for outside coordination. If you need to evacuate your facility or you are receiving evacuees then you must be able to transmit and receive data. Example you are evacuating patients from your hospital to multiple hospitals using Amtrak. You will need to give the conductor a list of stops and a number of patients to be off loaded so the railroad can project the amount of time needed at reach stop for traffic control. You will need to send forward patient data to all of the receiving hospitals so they can determine how many of each type of patient that can care for, and you need to send a list to a patient tracking office so family members can find out where their loved ones are. Sending records with patients sounds easy, but papers get lost very easily.

If you loose connectivity with the inter net you need a back-up system. You can send your data using a KU band satellite from your network server to the network server of a sister organization. You will have to limit the number of users who have access to the internet based upon your band width capacity. Keep in mind that this same KU band satellite system is also supporting your voice communication. So you’ll need to allocate bandwidth between data and voice. It would be best to decide which positions and location will have access before the disaster. The position could be the head nurse, but the location (jack that is active) maybe in the front lobby where all the patients must pass through before they are transported to the railhead.

To send data to a remote field site such as a railhead you can use a HF /ALE radio coupled to a laptop to send data to and from the hospital. The same approach could be used with a sister organization if you do not have linking satellite systems.

Telecommunications:
Still the most reliable telecommunication system is commercial landline. Commercial land line is not affected by frequency interference, or cell towers being destroyed. However land line is affected by loss of infrastructure, and circuit overload. To over come these problems the best solution is to have a sister organization that will allow you to utilize their telecommunication system. Example: Your organization is a large hospital with its’ own switchboard and you have a sister hospital in another state. You can link both hospitals together using a satellite operating on the KU band. Terminate both  satellite systems with their respective telecommunications switchboards. This provides you with access to commercial telecommunications outside the disaster area using your sister organization’s switchboard. You can also access the World Wide Web using the same system. The amount of data and voice traffic that you will be able run over the satellite system is dependent upon the amount of bandwidth you purchase. (see figure? for an illustration) One other note, satellite communication equipment is not like your standard Land Mobile Radio. To change the operating frequency of a Satellite system requires new tuning elements. Satellite and Micro-wave systems are factory set for your frequency and band width. This factory setting makes for a very stable system, but you will not be able to just dial in a new frequency and enter another agency’s system. There are tactical satellite systems out there that can change their frequency, but these systems are usually designed for a single user. Harris Corp makes some nice tactical systems that would be ideal when setting up an evacuation staging area where the area will be occupied for a short period of time.

Priority calling cards and lines:
During a disaster phone lines are at a perimum not only are agencies trying to coordinate aid, but family and friends are calling each other trying to get the latest information. In the event of a major disaster certain agencies have priority usage of the phone systems. This policy works when key personnel are calling from their assign phone, but if they are using the nearest working phone the system doesn’t recongaize them. Key agencies can obtain priority calling cards for use in the field. These cards look just like a calling card, but when the pin is dialed that caller has priority on the circuit which will drop a non-priority call to make room. Remember these cards work only if the phone system works. During the San Diego fires in 2007 a large amount of the cell phone network was down along with other personnel wireless communication services.

The phone companies restore circuits in a building block format of service structure and revenue. Your organization can pay a reoccurring fee to have its lines placed higher on the priority list. The following has been the priority of restablishing commercial telecommunication service:

• Interstate circuits first
• Pay phone circuits (Inter-city trunk)
• Land Line circuits (Intra-city)
• Cell phone circuits

Notice the “Interstate” circuits are first which is why I recommend that you team with a sister organization in another state to provide mutural aid to one another with your telecommunications switchboard. Interstate circuits are the first priority to allow for coordination of interstate support during a disaster. If you are the epicenter of a disaster you need help for agencies that are from out side the disaster area. This means that even though you can’t pick up you phone and call the café across the street, someone else from out of state could call that same café. By utilizing a switchboard from an out of state sister organization enables you to utilize local circuits that otherwise would not be available to you.

Land Mobile Radio
Land Mobile Radios (LMR) usually refers to VHF/UHF radios, but any radio that you can carry with you can be called a LMR. For complex the size of a University campus or a major Hospital you may need to incorporate repeaters for your LMR system. Basic planning for LMR is Line-Of-Sight, if you can see from radio to radio you can communicate. The problem with urban areas is too many buildings can block or reflect your signal. Terrain features can also block your signal too. To overcome this problem is necessary to utilize a repeater.

Repeaters
Repeaters are mounted at an elevation high enough to see all the radios that will be operating in your area. The repeater listens for a signal then re-transmits it to the distant end. There are several ways to use a repeater. If you are operating in duplex mode that is transmitting on one frequency and listening on another the repeater will just re-transmit the signal and you will not notice any delay. If you do not have the frequency available for duplex operation then you can use a time delay system. The repeater will receive your signal hold it until you have completed your transmission then send it back out on the same frequency. This system can be annoying because you have to wait for the signal, listen to yourself and wait again for the distant end. This system works best for broadcast of pagers it is very cumbersome for two way communications. The third method is to activate the repeater only when needed. You may need to use your repeater only when you enter an isolated location. In this case the repeater sleeps until needed, you would switch your radio to the repeater frequency when you need to use the repeater. The advantage of this method is if your repeater is operating on batteries, with either an automatic generator or solar cells it saves battery life and reduces the amount of fuel required. (see figure? For illustration)

Inter-agency operability
There are many events where multiple agencies are required to work together. An example would be the President of the United States coming to give an address at a University. To provide security for this event you would have your campus public safety/police, local police, Sheriff, FBI, and Secrete service all working together. The challenge is not everyone will have the same equipment, or be operating on the same frequency. A very straight forward solution is to utilize a system like JPS’ ACU 1000 or the ACU-T. This system allows for intercommunication via radio using different equipment and different frequencies. You would have this equipment at your command center connected to your base station. Each agency involved would connect one of their radios to it set to their frequency. When one agency talks the ACU acts like a repeater and converts the signal into something everyone can use then each connected radio transmits the data on its’ own frequency. This is a very simple system, but you need to plan a head. Each different model radio will require its’ own custom card and cable in the ACU. In your planning purchase the required cards and cables for the equipment that you sister agencies have so you will be ready when the time comes.

HF/ALE radios
HF has a large advantage over VHF/UHF and that is range. HF can communicate around the world without repeaters, just as long as the system has the right antenna and frequency. This make HF ideal for organizations who’s facilites are spread over a large geographical area. HF  can be used to transmit Voice just like a LMR system, Data, or VOIP.

Internet Resources

A Sample organization equipment requirements