Editing Project 25 (section)

===History===
Public safety radios have been upgraded from [[Analog signal|analog]] [[Frequency modulation|FM]] to [[Digital data|digital]] since the 1990s because of an increased use of data on radio systems for such features as GPS location, [[Trunked radio system|trunking]], text messaging, metering, and encryption with different levels of security.

Various user protocols and different [[public security|public safety]] [[radio spectrum]] made it difficult for Public Safety agencies to achieve interoperability and widespread acceptance. However, lessons learned during disasters the United States faced in the past decades have forced agencies to assess their requirements during a disaster when basic infrastructure has failed. To meet the growing demands of public safety digital radio communication, the United States [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) at the direction of the [[United States Congress]] initiated a 1988 inquiry for recommendations from users and manufacturers to improve existing communication systems.<ref name="project1">{{cite web |url=http://www.project25.org/modules.php?name=Content&file=viewarticle&id=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210120900/http://www.project25.org/modules.php?name=Content&file=viewarticle&id=2 |archive-date=2009-02-10 |url-status=dead |title=Project 25 Technology Interest Group - Content - General - What is Project 25? |website=project25.org |publisher=Project 25 Technology Interest Group |access-date=2014-06-06}}</ref><ref name="project2">{{cite web |url=http://project25.org/component/content/article/29-content-articles/49-what-is-p25 |title=What is P25? |website=Project25.org |publisher=Project 25 Technology Interest Group |access-date=2014-06-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607000408/http://project25.org/component/content/article/29-content-articles/49-what-is-p25 |archive-date=2014-06-07 }}</ref> Based on the recommendations, to find solutions that best serve the needs of public safety management, in October 1989 APCO Project 25 came into existence in a coalition with:<ref name="project1"/><ref name="apcointl1">{{cite web|url=http://www.apcointl.org/frequency/project25/information.html |title=Spectrum Management |publisher=Apcointl.org |date=2013-09-30 |access-date=2014-06-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212013100/http://www.apcointl.org/frequency/project25/information.html |archive-date=February 12, 2012 }}</ref>
* [[Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International]] (APCO)
* [[National Association of State Telecommunications Directors]] (NASTD)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nastd.org/home|title=Home - National Association of State Technology Directors|website=www.nastd.org}}</ref>
* [[National Telecommunications and Information Administration]] (NTIA)
* [[National Communications System]] (NCS)
* [[National Security Agency]] (NSA)
* [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] (DoD)

A steering committee consisting of representatives from the above-mentioned agencies along with FPIC ([[Department of Homeland Security]] Federal Partnership for Interoperable Communication), [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] and the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]]'s [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] (NIST), Office of Law Enforcement Standards was established to decide the priorities and scope of technical development of P25.<ref name="apcointl1"/>