Creating a Shared Public Safety Radio Data Set for Sharing and Analysis

Sponsor

Department of Commerce – National Institute of Standards and Technology

Researchers

Walt Magnussen

Technical Lead

–

Period of performance

09/2021 – 08/2024

Project Summary

In September 2021, Texas A&M University was awarded more than $900,000 for the Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program: Public Safety Radio Data Grant. As public safety begins to transition from Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems to packet-based broadband systems such as LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and 5G technology, shared public safety radio datasets are becoming increasingly important. In the effort to support the transition from LMR to LTE, Texas A&M seeks to gather this data from several different public safety organizations to develop traffic models and determine overall system requirements.

Related Articles

NIST-PSIAP-PSCR 2021

public safety radio (LMR) dataset Request Form

This form is intended for researchers with a documented business or academic need to access the LMR data sets collected by Texas A&M ITEC. Casual or exploratory requests will not be considered. All requests are subject to review and approval by NTIA/NIST.

Qualified researchers may request access to the public safety radio data sets by submitting a formal application. Access is granted only upon approval by NTIA/NIST and is subject to strict data use and protection guidelines.

data use and protection guidelines

Eligibility and Approval

-Access to the data is restricted to qualified researchers with a documented business need directly related to their role.

–Casual or exploratory requests are discouraged and will not be approved.

-All requests must be submitted via the official request form and are subject to approval by NTIA/NIST.

-Only the minimum necessary dataset will be shared upon approval.

Data Request Requirements

Requestors must:

-Clearly state the purpose of their research.

-Identify the specific data set(s) they are requesting.

-Provide a detailed use case explaining how the data will be utilized.

-Agree to not share the data beyond the initial request without further approval.

-Outline a data protection plan ensuring secure handling and storage.

Data Handling and Storage

-The data is stored in a read-only location accessible only to authorized personnel.

-A backup/archive of the data is maintained in a separate location and must be recoverable within 1 day.

-Data is encrypted and stored on a thumb drive and secure server infrastructure.

-All Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) have been redacted.

Distribution Process

Approved data sets are sent via FILEX (or a secure alternative if FILEX is replaced).

Each dataset ZIP file includes a README-FIRST document explaining the data structure and contents.

Instructions

Please complete all fields accurately. Incomplete submissions may delay processing. Once submitted, your request will be reviewed by CACN and forwarded to NTIA/NIST for final approval. You will be notified of the decision via email.

Contact

Enter your legal first name.
Enter your legal last name.
Include your job title or role within your organization.
Provide the full name of the organization you represent.
Provide a direct phone number where you can be reached during business hours.

Purpose

Describe your research purpose and how the data will be used.
Provide a detailed use case explaining how the data will be utilized.

Data Protection

Outline how you will secure the data and prevent unauthorized sharing.

requested data set(s)

Public Safety Radio (LMR) Data Sets*
Specify which event(s) /data subset(s) you are requesting. Each dataset includes anonymized LMR usage data, AVL logs, and associated metadata (e.g., weather, traffic, event details), organized by event and location. These are stored in encrypted ZIP files with accompanying README documentation.

Questions/Comments

Use this space to provide any additional context, technical details, or specific questions. The more detail you provide, the better we can assist you.

Agreement

I agree to NOT SHARE the data beyond the initial request without further approval

Request approval

Approval may take several weeks. You may check the status by contacting [email protected].