Narrowband  |  2021-10-22

CISA Video Addresses P25 Funding Issues and the Future of the P25 Standard

Source: CISA

For agencies considering the transition to P25, the video offers insights and advice from public safety officials with firsthand experience. 

The Project 25 (P25) standard for public safety land mobile radio (LMR) enables responders from different disciplines and jurisdictions to communicate seamlessly during joint operations regardless of the manufacturer of their equipment.

This capability is fundamental for saving lives and property, and agencies nationwide recognize its importance. Two issues, however, often make agencies hesitate to adopt P25 technology. First is the perceived high cost of P25 equipment and its implementation; second is the advent of long-term evolution (LTE) broadband technologies in public safety.

The Funding and the Future of P25 video addresses both issues through interviews with public safety practitioners, communications managers, and engineers. The six-minute video places the costs of P25 technology in perspective, emphasizing the standard’s proven value to public safety operations over the past two decades, and offers recommendations to help agencies successfully fund P25 systems.

The interviewees then compare the characteristics and performance of LMR equipment to those of current LTE devices, with special attention to the durability, transmitting power, one-to-many communication, and emergency push-to-talk features of P25 radios.

Their conclusion: P25 and LTE are not exclusive options but are both likely components of public safety communications in the future.

In summary, this CISA-produced video discusses:

  • The value of P25 as a long-term investment in public safety
  • Comparative costs of P25 and non-P25 equipment
  • Recommendations for P25 funding
  • Advantages of P25 LMR equipment in daily operations, emergencies, and multi-agency response, and
  • The role of P25 in the coming decades.