Interagency Communications Interoperability System

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Interagency Communications Interoperability
System
ICIS
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The Present State of Public Safety Communications

• Most Cities in Los Angeles County Have Compatible
  Voice Radio Systems
• All Cities Operate Autonomously, as Islands
• No Wide-Area Radio Coverage for Smaller Cities
• No Ability to Roam Outside of Home City
• Often Difficult to Initiate Inter-Agency
  Communications Between Field Units

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Needs Assessment

• Efficient Use of Available Frequencies
• Additional Tactical Channels
• True Mutual-Aid Channels
• Channels Labeled Identically in All Radios
• High System Reliability
• Each City Retains Control Over its Own
  Communications

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Needs Assessment

• Interoperability with Allied Agencies
• Intra-operability within Agencies
• Wide-Area Radio Coverage
• Remain in contact with their home city when
  distant from the city

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The Interoperability Challenge

• Technical
• Technical challenges are easily overcome.
• Trunking for Day to Day Interoperability
• Patching for Interoperability at Incidents
• Operational
• Operational issues are more challenging.
• Parochial Attitudes
• Insular Thinking

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Technology

• Mixed-Mode
• Analog FM Modulation for Backward Compatibility
• Project 25 Digital Modulation for Current and
  Future Compatibility
• Trunking
• Most Efficient Use of Available Frequencies
• Many Channels Available
• Greatly Increased System Capacity

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The ICIS Model

• Multiple Independent Trunked Radio Systems Act as
  Cells
• Units Roam on any Cell Within the System
• Units Remain in Contact with Their Home City
  While Roaming
• Each City Retains Control of its Radio System

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Beverly Hills Cell Radio Coverage
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Culver City Cell Radio Coverage
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Montebello Cell Radio Coverage
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East Cell Radio Coverage
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Glendale Cell Radio Coverage
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ICIS Network Coverage
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Benefits of ICIS

• True Interoperability
• Instantaneous and Transparent Cross-Band
  Communications
• Ability to Interconnect with Other Systems
• Wide-Area Radio Communications
• Additional Channels

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Benefits of ICIS

• An Affordable Solution
• Trunking provides sufficient resources that some
  users may not need to purchase any
  infrastructure.
• Trunking systems are the replacement of choice
  for aging conventional systems, and their
  interconnection adds very little additional cost
  (2-4 on average) to the project.
• Microwave backbone provides high-bandwidth data
  connections between member cities.
• Regional Mobile Data System (Currently Under
  Construction)
• CAD and RMS Data Sharing Possible
• Consolidated Dispatch Center Services Possible

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Potential Drawbacks

• Cost
• A trunking infrastructure is slightly more
  expensive than a conventional system.
• Trunking-capable subscriber equipment is more
  expensive than their conventional counterparts.
• Availability of Radio Frequencies
• Not all of the smaller cities (smaller than Los
  Angeles) have sufficient frequencies with which
  to construct a trunked radio system.

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ICIS Implementation Began in February 2002
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Implementation Highlights

• Glendale Simulcast Cell
• 17,000,000 Invested by Glendale
• On Air in September 2003
• Oat Mountain Cell
• Funded by Glendale
• Provides Coverage into Santa Clarita Valley
  Simi Valley
• On Air in September 2003
• Montebello Simulcast Cell
• 7,600,000 Invested by Montebello
• On Air in October 2004

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Implementation Highlights

• Culver City Cell
• 10,000,000 Invested by Culver City
• Currently In Operation
• Connection to ICIS in 2004
• East Cell (Pomona)
• Pomona is Exploring Funding Sources
• Anticipated Deployment in 2005-06
• WECA Cell (Cities in Western San Bernardino
  County)
• WECA has invested 5,500,000 to date, and is
  currently seeking additional funding.
• Anticipated Deployment in 2006-07

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ICISInteragency CommunicationsInteroperability
System

• A New Level of Cooperation
• A New Way of Thinking
• A New Approach to Interoperability
• A Real Solution