NATICK, Mass.-The public-safety community wants software-defined radio technology to solve interoperability issues with communications between departments, according to a new study by Venture Development Corp.
The study, “Software-Defined Radio: North American and European Market Demand Analysis,” found 88 percent of U.S. public-safety respondents want such technology. The study said most agencies have no means of direct radio-to-radio communication and often resort to swapping radios among departments or transporting communication gateways to sites. Similar interoperability issues within the U.S. military are being addressed with SDR technology, said the report.
However, commercial SDR products do not yet exist due to lack of SDR standards, technical constraints and financial limitations as well as reluctance by radio manufacturers to invest in SDR for public safety.
“It will probably be several years before SDR penetrates the public-safety community, however, successful military implementations and demand from public-safety agencies will promote product development,” said Chad Hart, VDC’s Datacom and Telecom Practice director. “SDR is more than a buzzword-it is a real technology, solving complex communication problems in critical environments.”
