OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Gateway Training Workshop Module One Basic Gateway Overview Patrick R Kempker Gateway Instructor (619) OEC/ICTAP-MULTI-OVRVW-002-R0

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 2 Basic Gateway Overview  Problem  Interoperability Defined  Interoperability Methods  Local Documentation  Deployment Considerations  Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan (TICP) Overview  Limitations  Best Practices

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Problem  In emergency situations, various jurisdictions inevitably become involved.  Law enforcement  Fire Departments  Emergency Medical Personnel  First responders have an absence of interoperable radio equipment.  Causes  Different frequencies  Different modulation schemes  Proprietary Systems

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Interoperability Defined The ability of Public Safety responders to share information via voice and data communications systems on demand, in real time, when needed, and as authorized! 4

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 5 Interoperability Methods SAFECOM Interoperability Continuum

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 6 Interoperability Methods (Continued) Radio Communications Interoperability Strategies Same Radio System Swap Radios Shared System Commercial Services Common Frequencies Multimode Radios System-to-System Gateways Console Interface Multi- System Controllers

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 7 Interoperability Methods (Continued) P25 Standards Will Fix  Common Air Interface  Modulation Schemes  Conventional radios  Digital radios  Trunked radios  Internet Connectivity (Phase 2)  Data Transfer (limited)  Narrowband Requirements Will NOT Fix  Different Frequency  Lack of Coverage

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 8 Local Documentation Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan (SCIP)  Establishes a future vision for interoperable communications and aligns emergency response agencies with that vision by creating goals, objectives, and initiatives that achieve improved public safety communications.  The SCIP is written by a cross-section of emergency response disciplines, regions, and levels of government within the state.  It describes past, present, and future interoperability projects.  It lists big ticket projects the state is planning to help fund.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Local Documentation (continued) Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan (TICP)  Describes how you’re providing interoperability today.  It has the Policies and Procedures for your local area’s interoperable equipment, such as:  Swap (Cache) Radios  Shared Channels  Shared System  Audio Gateways 9

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 10 ACU-2000IP TRP-1000 ICRI InfiniMux RIOS Transportable ACU-1000 ACU-T ACU-M RIOS Rack Mount Gateway Operations

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Gateway Operations (continued)  Interconnect disparate communication systems  HF / VHF / UHF / 700 / 800  Analog  Digital  Conventional  Trunked  Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN)  Satellite  Cellular  Dispatcher interface  Local  Remote

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 12 Deployment Considerations Incident Area Network (IAN) – Small, temporary network created for a specific incident Transportable Fixed Jurisdiction Area Network (JAN) - Main communications network for first responders; provides connectivity to the Extended Area Network (EAN). Extended Area Network (EAN) - Links city, county, regional, state, and national systems Portable

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program PSTN Remote Sites Interface Devices Cellular VHF Network/ RF Signal UHF 700/800 MHz Iridium 802.X LAN Interface Devices Network Audio Gateway Deployment Considerations Note: The Audio Bridge/Gateway doesn’t transmit or receive any radio signals, only clear voice. All frequency modulation and demodulation is accomplished by the interfaced devices. Baseband Voice 13

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 14 Deployment Considerations: Gateway Placement Good Signal Out of Range GATEWAY SmartNet EDACS Conventional When using repeaters, audio gateways don’t increase your coverage area - you have to be able to hit your repeater to get into the system This configuration makes you interoperable with agencies sharing joint jurisdiction

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 15 Gateways interfaced to radios using simplex/direct frequencies requires a smaller coverage area and can work well for Incident Area Networks Gateway Deployment Considerations: Extending Coverage Area

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program TICP Overview  Local Area Information  Governance  Local Interoperability Equipment  Procedures for Interoperable Equipment such as:  Request for Use  Activation  Deactivation  Problem ID and Resolution  Limitations  Test Procedures 16

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 17 Agencies Rights and Responsibilities Agencies will retain the following rights and responsibilities:  Agencies are responsible for agreeing to and complying with MOUs and Sharing Agreements developed by the governing body.  Agencies agreeing to this plan have the authority to request use of systems in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).  Dispatch agencies and emergency communication centers of participating agencies have the authorization to request use of the systems.  Where applicable, agencies will be responsible for maintaining, testing and exercising connectivity to interoperable communication systems.  Agencies retain the right to decide when and where to participate in interoperable communications.  Agencies retain the right to accept or decline a patch to a gateway system to provide interoperable communications during an incident

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Coordination and Assignment of Interoperability Assets When the same resources are requested for two or more incidents, resource assignments shall be based on the priority levels below:  Disaster, large scale incident or extreme emergency requiring mutual aid or interagency communication  Incidents where imminent danger exists to life or property  Incidents requiring the response of multiple agencies  Pre-planned events requiring mutual aid or interagency communications  Incidents involving a single agency where supplemental communications are needed for agency use  Drills, tests and exercises 18

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Prioritization In the event of multiple simultaneous incidents with the same priority, the resources shall be allocated according to the following:  Incidents with the greatest level of exigency (e.g., greater threat to life or property, more immediate need...) have priority over less exigent incidents.  Agencies with single/limited interoperable options have priority use of those options over agencies with multiple interoperable options.  When at all possible, agencies already using an interoperable asset during an event should not be redirected to another resource. 19

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Rules of Use  National Incident Management System – Use an Incident Command System (ICS) compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) when using any regional interoperability resource.  Unit Identification - Agencies will identify themselves by agency name and designated call sign/radio designator. -  Plain Language - All radio traffic shall be in plain language. The use of 10-Codes and specific agency acronyms is discouraged.  Always announce when a patch is activated or deactivated.  All encrypted radio users will be required to work in the “unencrypted” mode. Note: Never assume encryption carries across the gateway. 20

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 21 Gateway Limitations: Overview Gateways retransmit across multiple frequency bands and/or systems providing an interim interoperability solution as agencies move toward shared systems. However, gateways have the following limitations:  No Encryption  Inefficiencies  Geographic Area  Portable Battery Life  Set-up Time  Frequency Conflicts/Interference

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 22 Gateway Limitation: No Encryption  The Gateways don’t transmit or receive any signals.  Gateways pass baseband audio (audible voice).  All modulation / demodulation and Encryption/Decryption is accomplished by the interface devices. Example: An encrypted signal comes into an interface device, it decrypts the signal and passes the baseband audio to the devices patched to it. If the other devices are encrypted the audio is re-encrypted and sent out. However, if a device isn’t encrypted the audio is still retransmitted in the clear. Remember, at a minimum the audio can be monitored in the clear at the gateway.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 23 Gateway Limitation: Inefficiency Additional Assets  To provide interoperability on the scene of an incident, each agency needs to provide a mobile radio in advance or a portable at the scene of the incident.  This ties up one radio asset for each system/channel. The more channels you tie together in a talk group, the more radio spectrum being utilized. Example: If we share a common frequency and everyone turns to that frequency we have interoperability, no extra radios or radio frequencies are being used. If we are patched through a gateway, we are still using our radios on the scene but now there are two extra radio assets patched through the gateway and we are using twice the radio spectrum.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 24 Gateway Limitation: Coverage Area Gateway's effective geographic coverage area is limited to the area that is common to all systems participating in that link. Common Area Note: In this usage the Gateway does not increase your coverage range. Your radio must be able to hit your normal network to communicate.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 25 Gateway Limitation: Set-Up  Some gateways require significant time to configure; others are a matter of simply hooking up radios and turning the system on.  It doesn’t matter the type of gateway you use, it is imperative the gateway be configured in its standard operating configuration prior to deployment. Example: The gateway will be used to connect an 800 MHz trunked system to a conventional system on a regular basis. The trunk channel requires time to get an acknowledgement tone back from the system prior to transmission; the gateway must be configured to allow for this delay so none of the message is lost during transition. All gateways must pass the shoot/don’t shoot rule: losing one word can ruin someone’s day.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 26 Gateway Limitation: Battery Life Portable Radios have a Limited Use Time Due to Battery Life  Mobile gateways are designed to enable interoperable communications for short duration events.  To extend mobile gateway operating time, consider: additional power sources, radio chargers, and extra batteries.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 27 Gateway Limitation: Frequency Conflicts / Interference  Antennas must be properly positioned to prevent radio interference or desensitizing the radio receivers.  In regions where multiple mobile gateway devices are accessible, it is critical to coordinate the use of these devices to ensure that multiple gateways do not “step-on” each other. Example1: Patching multiple VHF channels on the same Gateway (GW) can raise the noise level in the immediate area of the GW so the effective range may be reduced. Example 2: GW 1 has 12 radios interfaced to it and the radios are programmed to frequencies GW2 has 5 radios interfaced to it and they are programmed to frequencies 1-5. GW1 creates a patch between 1, 6, and 8. GW2 creates a patch to 1, 3, and 5. This is the same as if you had one GW patching channels 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 together. At best this scenario will add confusion, at worst the radio chatter will make both systems unusable. Coordinate all patches through the Incident Communications Leader (COML).

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 28 Best Practices No Encryption  Treat all conversations as if they are in the clear. Inefficiencies  To prevent excess chatter, only patch those systems that really need to talk to each other for the time they need to talk. Remember, just because you can patch someone doesn’t mean you should.  Never patch talkgroups on the same trunked system together; you could cause your own system busy.  When using an audio gateway with a trunked system, it’s best to have a high priority talkgroup on the system dedicated for gateway use.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 29 Best Practices (Continued) Geographic Area  Use simplex/direct frequencies for localized incidents. Portable Battery Life  Use mobile radios whenever possible. Set-up Time  Interface radios should be tested and adjusted with the audio gateway prior to initial deployment. Some mobile radios require special programming, others may require hardware modification.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 30 Best Practices (Continued) Setup Time (Continued)  All gateways require special interface cables to connect to the various types of radios. If a radio must be added ad hoc, the requesting organization should provide a portable radio, additional batteries, charger, and the interface cable. Frequency conflicts/interference  Coordination is the key - always go through the Communications Leader prior to creating a patch and know what is being patched.

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program 31 Questions ????

OEC/ICTAP Office of Emergency Communications / Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program