INPUT released industry forecast

RESTON, Va., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Virginia-based INPUT is forecasting an increase in funding for public safety interoperable communications, while gains will be limited without standards.

INPUT is a market information and consulting company for government contractors. In a recent forecast of state and local public safety interoperable communications, INPUT projects the marketplace will grow to $5.5 billion by 2012.

The recently issued Public Safety Interoperable Communications grant program from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is set to provide nearly $1 billion for improvements in public safety communications like first-responder systems. INPUT estimates only limited gains will be attained despite the funding as a result of an absence of common standards.

"Lacking clear guidelines for standardization, states and localities will purchase a wide variety of systems and equipment," said Tim Brown, analyst, homeland security for INPUT, in a statement. "We will see investments in basic radios and repeaters, millions of dollars spent on gateways and shared channels, and hundreds of millions spent on completely new, statewide, interoperable networks."

Despite criticisms of the lack of guidelines and governance deficiencies INPUT officials say the deadlines imposed by the Strategic Technology Reserve requires states to have an interoperable solution in place that will result in opportunities for vendors into the next decade.

"It is an exciting time for vendors who operate in the public safety communications marketplace," said Brown. "With tight deadlines for the PSIC grant on the horizon, vendors will need to step in and help agencies and jurisdictions incorporate interoperability into their "as is" public safety communications systems. This will be the first time that every state will have such a plan in place. Restrictions as to what can and cannot be done to achieve short-term interoperability will be limited, as long as the vision of long-term goals, like Project 25, is not abandoned."