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By M. Scot Skinner, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

A federal program that studies how public-safety agencies communicate with each other rates Arizona and 27 other states as "developing," but Tucson is actually ahead of the curve, a city technology official and a national expert agreed.

That's because Tucson is planning a $78 million upgrade of its communication systems and facilities that should be fully operational within five years.

One goal is seamless radio communication between Tucson public-safety agencies and neighboring agencies. This becomes important in major situations or vehicle pursuits that go in and out of jurisdictions, authorities said.

While it's too early to say whether agencies such as the Pima County Sheriff's Department will sign on as partners in communication efforts, the upgrade is being approached with the inter-agency ability in mind, said Jim Perry, the city's administrator for technical planning and research.

Currently, public-safety agencies in the Tucson area cannot effectively communicate with each other because of the different radio systems and frequencies they each use. Personnel in the field needing to contact another agency must ask dispatchers to call the other agency and relay information.

A new "report card" by the Public Safety Wireless Network categorizes each of the 50 states as either Mature, Established, Developing or New. The 4-year-old public-safety program, which works with agencies at all levels of government to improve radio communication between agencies, is a joint project of the Departments of Justice and the Treasury.

Only Michigan and Delaware are rated as Mature, meaning they have achieved the ability for agencies to communicate with each other on a statewide basis. Using common standards, the system allows officers and paramedics to communicate via radio with other jurisdictions.

The widespread inability of agencies to efficiently communicate with each other was highlighted during the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, Perry said.

More than 100 runners were used to relay messages between agencies, a method described by Perry as "Civil War" technology. "That really opened people's eyes and was a catalyst to getting these studies moving,'' he said.

"This is really a nationwide problem,'' said Rick Murphy, the co-program manager of the Public Safety Wireless Network. "But Tucson is definitely ahead of the game in terms of planning and preparation.''

Even though they're limited in how they communicate with each other, Tucson-area public-safety agencies have the ability to turn on a signal repeater called "tri-band."

The tri-band allows for the limited connection of the different VHF, UHF and 800 megahertz bands that are used by public-safety agencies.

Perry said the tri-band is a stopgap measure that has to be turned on at a communications center and then officers in the field must turn to that frequency.

Tucson's analog communication system has parts that are hitting the 20-year mark, Perry said. It's becoming increasingly difficult to buy parts for it, and when it breaks down, it must be repaired immediately by city employees.

The importance, after all, can scarcely be overstated, Perry said. "We're not talking about a taxicab communication system,'' he said. "This is a lifeline.''

Lt. Mike Sacco, in charge of technical support for the Sheriff's Department, said the county bought a communication system in 1999, replacing a 10-year-old system that was not Y2K-compliant.

"The problem is that because of proprietary technology, you buy a system and it's not compatible with other systems,'' he said.

When the county bought the new system, officials intended to use it for many years, Sacco said. That could complicate efforts to join with Tucson's upgraded, digital system. "The stumbling blocks are the cost and timing,'' he said.

The state leaders in terms of communicating with each other are Phoenix and Mesa, which will begin operating on common frequencies by the end of 2002, Sacco said.

The Tucson upgrade will include a new communications facility and "whatever it takes to move information through the city, such as microwave and fiber-optics hardware, plus the transmitters and receivers,'' Perry said.

In addition to the Fire and Police departments, the system will integrate communication with other city departments, including solid-waste management, water and transportation.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2001