Rowland said Codespear is probably the first working interoperability system in the country, while several major vendors such as Cisco Systems Inc. are only conducting or announcing trials.

The biggest difference between Codespear's system and Cisco's IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS), announced in October, is that Codespear's is primarily software, while Cisco's system relies on multiple hardware and software components, said Sean Buckley, an analyst at Current Analysis Inc. in Sterling, Va. Other vendors in the market include traditional radio companies such as Motorola Inc. and M/A-Com Inc. An interoperability gateway is being developed by Raytheon JPS Communications , a subsidiary of Raytheon Co. Also, Lucent Technologies Inc. announced a trial in Phoenix in October with Aloha Partners LP .

In addition, Codespear faces traditional government systems integrators, such as Lockheed Martin Corp. , Northrop Grumman Corp. , General Dynamics Corp. , Computer Sciences Corp. and Science Applications International Corp. , all which have indicated they will provide homeland security, public safety-related initiatives, Buckley said.

With the government allocating the 4.9-GHz band for public safety and with plans to allocate the upper part of the 700-MHz band, there will be "plenty of opportunity" for interoperability vendors to bring out products, Buckley said. "In the wake of events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the drive for communications interoperability for first responders is a market that's on the move," Buckley added.

He said one vendor is not likely to dominate. As a start-up, Codespear "lacks the resources" of a large vendor or integrator and will likely need to partner with one for further growth, he added.