On September 30, 2007, the Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program awarded $968,385,000 to fund interoperable communications projects from the 56 States and Territories. The awards will help State and local first responders improve public safety communications during a natural or man-made disaster.

The PSIC awards had a special condition that required the States and Territories to have an approved Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan (SCIP) and an approved Investment Justification (IJ) prior to the release of funds. All 56 States and Territories have an approved SCIP through the DHS Office of Emergency Communications (OEC). As of September 30, 2008, NTIA and FEMA had approved 51 of 56 Investment Justifications, representing over 281 projects and totaling over $902 million in funds.

NTIA and FEMA program staff used information from the IJ submissions to compile State-by-State Investment Summaries that capture the details of the 281 approved Investments. For more information, please go to Awards.

For an understanding of program requirements that resulted in the awards and approved PSIC Investments, please go to Application and Guidelines.

For information about workshops and other technical assistance provided through the program, please go to Technical Assistance.

For the latest updates from the program, please go to What's New.

The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 authorized NTIA, in consultation with DHS to make payments not to exceed $1 billion in the aggregate through fiscal year 2010 to carry out the PSIC program. The grant program will assist public safety agencies in the acquisition of, deployment of, or training for the use of interoperable communications systems that can utilize reallocated public safety spectrum in the 700 MHz band for radio communication.

NTIA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) to provide grants management services and technical assistance support to NTIA for the PSIC grant program. For more information, please go to NTIA Agreements with Homeland Security for PSIC Support. For more information about this agreement, please go to Background.

For information about the PSIC Grant Program, the public may contact NTIA's Office of Telecommunications and Information Administration at (202) 482-5802 or the DHS Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk (CSID) at 1-800-368-6498, or via email at askcsid@dhs.gov.