The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate conducted a 30-day pilot in the New Orleans to test the latest multiband radio technology, which lets disparate agencies communicate across jurisdictions regardless of radio band. Specifically, the New Orleans Department of Emergency Management and the New Orleans Police Department tested Harris's Unity XG-100P multiband radio's interoperability during the city's Jazz and Heritage Festival events that ended May 8.

The pilot has been extended so that Louisiana agencies can test this system further in preparation for hurricane season, said Thomas Chirhart, program manager of the DHS S&T Multiband Radio Program.

Chirhart joined Associate Editor Mary Rose Roberts to discuss the pilot, including its future and lessons learned thus far.