About 70 percent of those surveyed didn't know about the common channel, while one quarter of respondents knew of the channel but were unable to find it. An additional 3 percent could not find the current common channel, but could locate an old one. The investigators also reported that more than half of the radios did not have the settings for the common channel programmed into the device.
The radio communications program, developed in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was created to simplify communication between government agencies such as Customs and Border Patrol, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service and DHS.