Company expanding interoperable Comms beyond first responders.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: Homeland Security News

* As the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have pursued the long-standing goal of interoperable communications between first responders during times of crisis, a company has been slowly building a nationwide network using the Internet.

Mutualink Inc., a Wallingford, Conn.-based firm, saw its system tested during Hurricane Sandy last year. Prior to that catastrophic storm, it had already signed up dozens of clients in New Jersey.

The problem with the interoperability vision that the federal government has pursued over the past decade is that it doesn't go far enough, said company President Colin McWay.

DHS has a list of 18 critical infrastructure sectors. Many of these entities want to be informed as to what is happening or to share information they may have, he said.

Hospitals, power plants, shopping malls and sports stadiums are not normally thought of when it comes to interoperable communications. But in some cases, they may need to be in the loop.

They may have radios of various makes operating on different frequencies, none at all, or have only cell phones. After years of effort, there are only small pockets of first responder communities that are connected, he said. A nationwide system doesn't exist.

The company's Interoperable Response and Preparedness Platform allows anyone to join no matter what the communication device.

The system only links those who agree to be connected, and respects the "sovereignty" of agencies that want to maintain control of their systems.

Deciding who can communicate with whom during a crisis is done on a Mutualink website. If a fire or police department from County A wants to link with County B, they can agree, and can also bring others in as well. If County C wants to get in, but is not a Mutualink customer, they could still participate, but only through a cell phone, he said.

In the years after Hurricane Katrina, many vendors were selling "boxes" that allowed various agencies with different radios to communicate. The problem was that one organization...