Operable or Interoperable Communications? The Chicken or the Egg?

Operable or inter­op­er­a­ble — which came first? A few defin­i­tions to get you thinkin’:

• Communications = a process of trans­fer­ring infor­ma­tion from one entity to another
• Operable = able to operate/perform your duties
• Interoperable = able to exchange and use information
• Interoperability = ability to work with each other

With all the talk of commu­ni­ca­tions inter­op­er­abil­ity and all the money we’ve spent since 9/11, you’d think this problem has been solved. Perhaps it has in some specific cases, but for the major­ity of U.S. commu­ni­ties — despite the best of inten­tions — inter­op­er­abil­ity as well as basic commu­ni­ca­tions operabil­ity is still lacking as a funda­men­tal corner­stone of our local, regional, and national preparedness.

When disas­ter strikes, is your commu­nity able to trans­fer criti­cal infor­ma­tion to those who can help? Do you have the commu­ni­ca­tions tools to share infor­ma­tion if your local telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions infra­struc­ture is down? What if you have to change your opera­tional location? Can you take these tools with you? Who provides power?

As a precur­sor to inter­op­er­abil­ity, be sure to address your commu­ni­ca­tions operabil­ity needs to make sure you can connect and coordi­nate with the people, processes, and systems that will make a real differ­ence in your ability to care for your commu­nity. With this prepared­ness funda­men­tal in place, you are then in a position to begin the process of estab­lish­ing inter­op­er­abil­ity amongst the people, processes and agencies that can make your response profile even more effective.

Remember — you can’t be inter­op­er­a­ble if you aren’t opera­ble. After all, our capac­ity to work together begins with a willing­ness AND an ability to share information.

Check out these resources:

• DHS’s National Emergency Communications Plan
• Interoperability via Satellite: Breaking Communications Barriers by Intelsat General Corporation
• CommsFirst, Inc., a managed services provider of opera­ble and inter­op­er­a­ble communications