Exhibit 49: Obstacles to Interoperability

All sizes and types of agencies experience similar obstacles to interoperability.
Agencies were given a list and asked to rate the severity of each as an obstacle to interoperability based on their agency's experience. The biggest obstacles, classified as severe/major problems, were limitations in funding (69 percent of respondents), and the use of different bands (51 percent of respondents). These two issues were causing severe problems for a significantly larger percentage of agencies than any of the other issues. In contrast, only 14 percent of agencies viewed limitations in commercial services as a severe obstacle. Although there were differences in the extent to which different sizes and types of agencies experienced the various factors as an obstacle to interoperability, the relative ratings were remarkably consistent across all agency size and type categories. Ratings of 4 or 5 were interpreted as an indication of a severe obstacle, and a rating of 3 as an indication that agencies view the problem as a moderate or occasional problem (rather than an ongoing major problem). Exhibit 49 and Exhibit 50 summarize the relative ratings and information about the percentage of agencies that viewed each issue as a severe obstacle. Ratings of 1 or 2 have been interpreted to mean that agencies view the issue as a minor or infrequent problem.

The four most common issues addressed in written responses at the end of the survey were funding issues (252 comments), frequency bands (115 comments), political/turf issues (56 comments), and terrain/dead spot issues (41 comments). A comment such as: "Cost issues and political turf issues seem most critical. Political entities do not like being told what equipment or needs are best for their agencies" was recorded under two headings (funding and political/turf). Since it was not an issue that agencies were asked to rate, it is difficult to assess the extent to which political or turf issues are viewed as an obstacle to interoperability. Each of the obstacles is analyzed in more detail and addressed in the pages that follow. See Table VIII in Appendix E.

Exhibit 50: Obstacles to Interoperability and Percentage of Agencies That Experience Each One as a Severe Obstacle

Note: Percentages indicate the percentage of agencies that rated the issue a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 1 = not a problem and 5 = major problem.