Public-safety interop to reach $5.5B by 2012

The state and local public-safety interoperable communications market is expected to grow to $5.5 billion by 2012, according to government business analyst Input.
That figure includes $3.4 billion from federal funding sources, said the firm. Input noted the National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently issued a $1 billion grand program to help jurisdictions improve public-safety communications.
The company said progress will be limited in the near-term by lack 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. “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.”