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This site is devoted to the promotion and interaction of State Interoperability Executive Committees and interested parties.

Interoperability :  The ability for different public safety and government agencies to communicate via Radio Frequency links across discipline and jurisdictional lines in order to exchange critical information in times of emergency events, disasters, and planned mutual events.

On August 8, 2002, the FCC released a notice relative to the creation of special state or regional committees (DA-02-1957A1.doc) regarding the FOURTH REPORT AND ORDER AND FIFTH NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING, DOCKET No. 96-86. In the Fourth R & O & Fifth NPRM document, the FCC recognized the importance of placing certain planning requirements for preparing for interoperability into the hands of regional committees.  Having experience with previous 800 MHz Regional Planning Committees and the more recent 700 MHz Regional Planning Committees, the FCC established the concept of regional interoperability committees in the form of the SIECs (State Interoperability Executive Committees).

Excerpt from DA-02-1957A1.doc

By way of background, in 1998, the Commission adopted a band plan for the 700 MHz public safety band. With respect to the interoperability spectrum, in 2001, the Commission decided that the states, in the first instance, should be responsible for administration of the interoperability channels.   In light of the central role that states provide in managing emergency communications, the Commission concluded that the states are best suited for administering the interoperability spectrum and that state-level administration would promote safety of life and property through seamless, coordinated communications on the interoperability spectrum. However, recognizing that some states may not want to administer this spectrum, the Commission established safeguards to ensure that an entity would be responsible for administering the interoperability spectrum. The Commission also recommended, but did not require, the formation of State Interoperability Executive Committees (SIEC) to administer the interoperability spectrum.

Each state was required to notify the Commission by December 31, 2001, of its decision to administer the interoperability spectrum by establishing a SIEC or its equivalent.  If a state did not notify the Commission of a decision by December 31, 2001, then effective January 1, 2002, the 700 MHz Regional Planning Committee(s) (RPC) would assume the responsibility for administering the interoperability spectrum.  On November 9, 2001, the Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Division sent reminder letters to each state.

The above document includes information relative to each state's response to the requirement for some regional entity to become responsible for interoperability planning.  Further direct information, including lists and current status of the various states, is included in the following FCC Web address: wireless.fcc.gov/publicsafety/700MHz/interop.html

The NCC (National Coordinating Committee), an advisory group formed by the FCC to help formulate and recommend 700 MHz public safety spectrum technical and operational rules for the FCC, has also been tasked with addressing interoperability issues.  One of the NCC’s work products has included an implementation guideline available via the NPSTC (National Public Safety Telecommunications Committee) Web site at www.npstc.org/documents. This document is a live document designed to help 700 MHz Regional Planning Committees formulate and submit plans to the FCC in order to use the general-use 700 MHz channels designated for public safety.