APCO P25 Portable Radios – ICOM, Kenwood, JPS & Avtec Solutions

What is P25?

Project 25 (P25 or APCO-25) is a digital Land Mobile Radio (LMR) standard developed jointly by public safety organizations (APCO, NASTD, federal agencies) and manufacturers through the TIA-102 series. P25 ensures interoperable, secure voice and data communications for first responders and emergency agencies, enabling digital upgrades of traditional analog systems.

A Brief History

P25 originated in 1989 as a collaborative effort to improve coordination across emergency services. The tragic communication failures on 9/11 further accelerated nationwide deployments of interoperable digital systems. Since its inception, P25 has evolved through two main phases:

Phase I (12.5 kHz FDMA): Initial digital standard with one voice channel per frequency.
Phase II (TDMA): Introduced around 2012, doubling capacity to two voice channels per 12.5 kHz. Includes AMBE+2 vocoder and maintains backward compatibility.

P25 Features & Interoperability

P25 defines open interfaces—such as CAI, ISSI, CSSI, encryption, and console/data links—allowing different manufacturers' equipment to communicate on shared systems. ISSI (Inter RF Subsystem Interface) enables cross-manufacturer system interconnection and wide-area trunked coverage during mutual aid incidents.

Integration with Interoperability & Dispatch Solutions

JPS Interoperability Solutions offers gateways and network interfaces that bridge communications between disparate radio systems, satellite, LTE, and P25 networks. Their ACU and SN series products help unify agencies operating on different technologies into a single, seamless communications environment.

Avtec Dispatch Consoles, part of the Motorola Solutions ecosystem, support P25 CSSI interfaces and deliver advanced dispatch capabilities for mission-critical environments. The Scout™ platform connects directly to both trunked and conventional P25 networks, offering encrypted communications, incident logging, and flexible user interfaces. PSI is an authorized Avtec dealer and supports full system design and deployment.

Global Adoption & Compliance

While predominantly adopted across the United States and Canada, P25 has also been implemented in Brazil, Australia, and parts of Asia. Equipment compliance is validated under DHS’s Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (CAP), which is a requirement for federal grant eligibility.