About the IDO

The Interoperability Development Office (IDO) was established in January 2011 as a requirement of the Communications Interoperability Strategy for Canada and its Action Plan.  

The IDO interacts with federal government departments and agencies, provinces and territories, emergency responders, academia, industry and international partners on matters of communications interoperability.  The IDO provides the Canadian emergency management community with a focal point on interoperability and is available within means and capabilities to Canadian first responder and emergency management practitioner organizations for consultation on all aspects of interoperability.

The IDO focuses on Governance, Standard Operating Procedures, Technology, Training & Exercise and Usage issues related to interoperability.

Operating within the Emergency Management Planning Division, Emergency Management and Regional Operations Branch at Public Safety Canada, the IDO provides periodic information briefings to the Associate Deputy Ministers’ Emergency Management Committee, Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management and to Provincial/Territorial Interoperability groups, as requested. 

For general inquiries, please email [email protected]

Key Documents:

• IDO Terms of Reference
• Communications Interoperability Strategy for Canada and its supporting Action Plan
• Stratégie canadienne d’interopérabilité des communications et Plan d’action
• The Canadian Interoperability Continuum - English and French
• MASAS-X Fact Sheet

Technical Advisory Notes:

• Priority and Pre-emption mechanisms in LTE Broadband Communications Networks
• Mission-critical voice services: a comparison of LTE versus Land Mobile Radio
• LightSquared LTE and the potential impact on GPS
• A survey of US Operational Requirements for a Public Safety Wireless Broadband Network
• A comparison of communications Network Architectures for a Public Safety Mobile Broadband Network
• Congestion Management Techniques for Public Safety Mobile Broadband Communications Networks
• Impact of Network Identifiers on the Governance of a Nation-Wide Public Safety Mobile Broadband Network