Linking up

• By STEVEN WARD
• 2theadvocate.com staff writer
• Published: Jul 13, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Louisiana is better prepared today to cope with emergencies thanks to an improved statewide communications plan, officials said.

That plan is a change in radio communications that will allow all first-responders in the state to talk to one another.

The switchover, from the 800 MHz system to 700 MHz, began in January 2007, and should be up and running statewide by next summer, said Brant Mitchell, assistant deputy director of interoperability with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Right now, the new system is operational in all parishes south of Interstate 10 and in southeast Louisiana, Mitchell said.

“If you look at the major disasters of the last 10 years, the No. 1 problem in all of them was that police, fire and emergency agencies were not able to talk to one another,” State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said.

Nationally, the initiative dates back to the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Locally, hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 prompted the change.

Those emergencies revealed a lack of interoperable communications, which hindered disaster assistance.

Interoperability allows public safety agencies to communicate on radios within and across agencies and jurisdictions.

The state’s move to a 700 MHz radio system is the main unifying factor, Mitchell said. The new system will allow first-responders all over the state to talk to one another and respond faster and more efficiently to disasters.

The 800 MHz analog wireless communication system is more than a decade old, Mitchell said, and the manufacturer, Motorola, no longer upgrades the technology.

The 700 MHz system has a greater bandwidth capability and can support more public safety radio voice traffic. The frequency also has space that allows agencies to transmit data and imagery such as fingerprints and warrants, Mitchell said.