Icom’s P25 Equipment Meets DHS CAP Requirements

Icom is pleased to announce its IC-F9011/F9021 portable and IC-F9511/F9521 mobile P25 radios are Compliance Assessment Program (CAP)-compliant. CAP is a voluntary program that demonstrates a supplier’s equipment meets defined P25 standards in performance, and interoperability.

Public safety agencies receiving federal grant money for P25 equipment are required to purchase CAP-compliant equipment. Federal grants are widely available for public safety agencies interested in buying mission-critical equipment.

The CAP program requires manufacturers to submit products to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognized test laboratories for a stringent assessment process, which includes performance and interoperability testing.

Manufacturers also are required to provide a Supplier’s Declaration of Compliance (SDoC), specifying the equipment tested and the DHS-identified lab performing the test supply pass/fail data for each of the tests. The FEMA Responders Knowledge Base (RKB) website www.rkb.us lists the summary test results (STR).

Icom is among a limited number of manufacturers currently offering CAP-compliant P25 equipment. “We are at the cusp of the trend,” says Chris Lougee, Vice President of Icom America.

Icom’s CAP-compliant radios meet IP57 certification requirements and are backwardscompatible with legacy equipment. Radio power has been increased to 6 watts. The cosmetic interoperable layout of the switches, knobs, and dials has been accepted as an industry standard. The radios are also easy to merge into fleets of radios. And the Icom radios have an enhanced vocoder, which is very important to firefighters.

Lougee anticipates a strong market for CAP-compliant P25 equipment. There are some 3,000 counties throughout the country with three to five agencies each. In the end, Lougee says, “P25 is driven by the need of end users.”

For more information about Icom America, visit www.icomamerica.com.