Beginning with the 2010 work plan, this Working Group will address the following objectives/action items:

For 2010:

1. Investigate and recommend the roles amateur radio can fulfill in support of public safety agencies during in emergency situations.
2. Develop guidelines and strategies for the proper and legal use of amateur radio within governmental organizations.
3. Study the status of interoperability and interaction between public safety and amateur radio services, both during normal times and in emergencies and integrate these findings into “Best Practices”.

Ongoing:

1. Develop, collect and publicize best practices for the public safety community to incorporate amateur radio into its operations. Review successes and failures around the country. Promote mutual understanding of Amateur Radio Emergency Organization's roles and organizational structures.
2. Identify interference sources common to public safety and amateur radio, and recommend mitigation methods.
3. Work through NPSTC for the inclusion of Amateur Radio as a communications resource for pertinent Federal, State and local communications and emergency plans and guidance materials.

The Radio Channel Naming Working Group, originally the Common Nomenclature Working Group and located within the Regional Planning Committee (RPC) Committee, is working to achieve a common nomenclature for all interoperability channels in all public safety bands.

For more information on the NPSTC Channel Naming Report click here.

To serve as a forum for the discussion of communications needs in EMS, particularly the integration of new communications technology to enhance access to the information required for appropriate emergency patient care and transportation.

• Hold "expert panel" meeting to make recommendations on the integration of communications technology in EMS. Draft white paper for comment by EMS community. Goal is to determine desired technologies and their bandwidth, cost and other implications
• Assist NASEMSO in pursuing a patient tracking standard as a data communications activity. Pursue through SAFECOM DM

Emergency Support Function #2 (ESF-2) supports the restoration of communications infrastructure, facilitates the recovery of systems and applications from cyber attacks, and coordinates Federal communications support to response efforts during incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response. The mission of this Working Group is to serve as a forum for the discussion of communications restoration needs at the local, tribal, state and Federal levels following a major event or incident as defined in the National Response Plan.

This Working Group will focus upon facilitating the development and utilization of Software Defined Radio (SDR) technologies for the support of public safety communications and operations.

The activities of this group are to :

1. Provide NPSTC representation and participation within the SDR Forum process;
2. Provide documentation of NPSTC’s positions in related regulatory matters and filings;
3. Assist in the development and analysis of public safety communications scenarios and in identifying the benefits and concerns related to the use of SDR-based technologies to support public safety operations;
4. Ensure that the work of the SDR Forum meets and properly reflects public safety’s requirements for deployable SDR-based technologies; and
5. Actively contribute within SDR Forum activities and working groups including:
   1. The SDR Forum Public Safety Special Interest Group (PSIG) activities (RFI for SDR Solutions to SAFECOM SDR).
6. The SDR Forum Cognitive Radio/Spectrum Sharing Working Group (Report on Cognitive Radio Capabilities, Spectrum Monitoring at RNC).
7. Click here to get additional documents regarding SDR.