Feds to drop $3 billion on new radios

> Thirty large and small businesses, including Motorola Solutions Inc.,
> Affigent, AT&T, Eyak Technology, Thales Communications, Patriot Towers and
> Unisys Corp. (the full list appears at the end of this story), will divvy
> up the award during the five-year work period. The vendors will fulfill
> orders for radio upgrades, support the agencies’ existing technologies and
> offer ways of making communications systems more compatible, according to
> an October 2011 contractor solicitation.
This will be another huge waste of taxpayer’s money like the billions
over the last decade. These exotic systems further isolate one agency
from another and fail even in routine operations. Firefighters are dying
because they have the wrong tool for tactical situations. Medical helos
are landing off-airport without direct communications with the LZ. Police
can’t co-ordinate with fire or EMS or feds.
Interoperability was identified by the federal government in January of
1982 and was worse on 9/11. It is even worse now. Radios will not fix that.
Education might.
Congress still fails to provide engineering assistance to the first
responders so they get whatever exotic toys their bosses are sold.
These new systems also further isolate the public from the police
which results in a more dangerous society.
What they should be teaching is Morse Code and Ham Radio operations in every high school so we will be ready when all the technology fails.