Texas Radio Coalition

The Texas Radio Coalition (TxRC) is a voluntary association of Texas government entities and affected agencies and organizations, whose representatives have come together in a cooperative effort to facilitate the planning, developing, and financing of a statewide interoperable public safety wireless communication system, consisting of existing and future local and regional wireless communication systems which are under local control.

The TxRC is partnering with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Texas Homeland Security Office to achieve the above-stated goal, in keeping with standards set by SAFECOM (the communications program of the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Interoperability and Compatibility), and the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management. TxRC has been tasked by Texas Homeland Security Director, Steve McCraw, with updating the Texas Statewide Interoperability Plan to meet the current DHS Statewide Planning criteria.

Membership in the TxRC is open to representatives of federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies; public safety, health, and emergency management organizations; critical public utility and transportation entities; and other organizations which are or may become involved in critical incident responses, or government agency responses to calls for assistance from the public. Current participants include representatives of governments or emergency service response organizations that geographically encompass the majority of Texas' population in the following areas: Houston / Harris County and eight surrounding counties, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, San Antonio / Bexar County, Austin / Travis County / Williamson County, El Paso / El Paso County, Midland area, Texas panhandle, East Texas to Waco, Bryan / Brazos County / Washington County, southeast Texas, the Middle Rio Grande Development Council area in southwest Texas along the border with Mexico, the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and the Lower Colorado River Authority service area ranging from central Texas to the Gulf coast. In cooperation with the Texas Association of Regional Councils (TARC), all 24 Texas Councils of Governments (COG's) have been invited to participate to maximize representation from all parts of the state. The TxRC has not endorsed any particular radio communication equipment or products, as it has elected to remain "vendor neutral."