The pilot’s primary purpose was to test the interoperable communications capability afforded by the multiband technology in a situation where multiple agencies on disparate bands were attempting to coordinate. The state and local agencies were on 700 and 800 MHz bands, while a private ambulance service and many of the federal agencies were on VHF with the Coast Guard operating on the marine VHF band.

The Louisiana Wireless Information Network (LWIN), a digital trunked network built on Motorola Astro 25, provided the 700 and 800 MHz backbone for the agencies involved in the pilot using radios on 700 and 800 MHz bands, VHF and VHF marine bands. Communications were also supported by the Louisiana Region One Communications Network maintained by the New Orleans Urban Areas Security Initiative region consisting of a 10-site simulcast 700/800 MHz digital trunked system.  “We have [Motorola] XTS 5000s or 2500 radios right now,” said Ken Hughes, communications planner with the New Orleans UASI region. “And in particular I would say the fire departments have a difficult time communicating when they’re standing next to the pumpers, the exhaust fans or K saws — any loud equipment.” Each officer who patrolled the fair grounds was assigned a radio. The radios canceled the background noise within a couple of seconds of the connection being made as the device distinguished the officer’s voice, according to reports Hughes received from officers and dispatchers. “If you have an officer that needs assistance — with that many people in the crowd, things can get out of control very fast — so being able to be heard the first time by the officer on the scene and/or dispatchers is very critical to us,” he said. Hughes would have liked the chance to test several of the radio’s other features, including its GPS capability. “When you’re surrounded by water and/or marshland, you’re constantly having to go out and do rescues and you really don’t have landmarks,” he said. “We would have loved the opportunity to play with that a little bit more.” During the festival, the Coast Guard also exercised its response to Mardi Gras by deploying a pollution response team and conducting patrols of the river. “All of those teams were able to communicate with each other and our sector command center satisfactorily and also with the [New Orleans] EOC,” said Russ Bowen, chief of response operations for the Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. Signal coverage for the test was 96 percent for the LWIN and slightly less for the Coast Guard’s marine band network, Bowen said, because that network is focused offshore. “Having both our offshore system and the ability to use the state system for our in-shore work, having them both — especially both in the same radio — is a key enabler for our operations,” he said.

Source: Emergency Management