How does SAFECOM address the needs of emergency response agencies?
SAFECOM advocates a bottom-up approach which means the program relies heavily on local and state public safety practitioners input and guidance as it works to define and implement solutions for the interoperability challenge. In promoting public safety communications interoperability, SAFECOM adheres to the following conditions and priorities: • Local, tribal and state agencies will continue to own the vast majority of the public safety communications infrastructure; • The priorities of local, tribal and State public safety communications systems are first and foremost to provide reliable agency-specific communications. Secondly, those systems should provide reliable local interagency communications. The requirement for reliable interagency communications between local, tribal, state, and Federal agencies is tertiary; • The functional and technical requirements for public safety communications equipment vary across jurisdictions and disciplines and are determined at the local level; •
