Overview

Too often in critical situations, communications among public safety agencies are hampered by interoperability problems. These incompatibilities are largely due to a lack of standards for a common approach to public safety communications.

Our PSCR laboratories provide research, development, testing, and evaluation to foster nationwide communications interoperability. Drawing on critical requirements provided by public safety practitioners, the PSCR program provides insight to wireline and wireless standards committees developing standards for voice, data, image, and video communications.

Housed within the Department of Commerce Labs in Boulder, Colorado, the PSCR program is a joint effort between NIST/OLES and NTIA/ITS. The very successful research performance of the joint effort has earned two Department of Commerce Gold Medal awards, the highest honor granted by the Department, as well as one Silver and two Bronze Medal awards.

The PSCR program performs research on behalf of our sponsors at DHS/OIC and NTIA/FirstNet to advance public safety communications interoperability.