Upgrades to radios on horizon for 911 system
Faulty radio coverage could soon be a problem of the past for Polk County thanks to the county commission agreeing to begin negotiations with Motorola as a sole source provider for 911 communications.
No contracts have been signed yet, but if County Attorney Brad McFall gives his approval, administrators will soon begin negotiating their way into a deal for new radios, new services, and much better coverage.
Members of the county’s administrative department and 911 operations have been combating gaps in coverage for some time, and while teaming up with companies like Diversified, raising tower heights, and downgrading the firmware on the towers have helped to mitigate some issues.
Though despite these efforts others continue to persist. In the worst case scenario, officers won’t be able to radio in problems during high-stakes encounters.
With these issues in mind, representatives from Motorola Solutions presented a specialized plan to the county commission during a special-called meeting on August 29.
The plan suggests the use of four different radio towers in Rocky Hollow, Cedartown, Taylorsville, and Rockmart for what makes up a massive coverage area with at least 95 percent reliability.
Even with this plan, there are certain parts of Polk County with slightly weaker coverage, primarily to the southwest of Rocky Hollow, but even the areas not hitting the guaranteed 95 percent reliability threshold could still be getting as high as 80 percent or even 94 percent reliability.
“This is 95 percent or better,” Motorola’s Keya Rajabi said while pointing to the coverage map. “95 out of 100 times you key up your radio, it’s going to work in those areas. Now, just because it’s not shaded doesn’t mean you’re not getting coverage there. You could have 80 percent, you could have 85 percent.”
It should be noted that the areas with 95 percent reliability shrink slightly when using the portable hand-held radios as opposed to the mobile in-car radios.
The mobiles have guaranteed 95 percent reliability nearly everywhere in Polk except for the far east and west sides; the portables see strong coverage but aren’t promised 95 percent alongside the far borders of the county.
Often times it’s not just radio coverage that could prevent an officer from using his or her radio, so Motorola also proposed new portable and mobile radios designed for public safety officials who may have no choice but to rough them up.
Rajabi demonstrated their durability by dropping one on the floor, and the officers present during the meeting seemed content with them.
The radios come from the APX series which is designed to suppress outside noises such as wailing sirens and loud winds while maintaining the voice of officers or other speakers. The radios can also be completely submerged in water. Should negotiations go well, the county would also be buying directly from Motorola — not a third-party seller.
This means the county would be receiving quality servicing and updates directly from the company itself.
“When you sign that contract, it’s with Motorola,” Rajabi said. “Nothing bad about signing with our dealers, but you’re buying from Motorola- Motorola’s maintaining your equipment. Part of your maintenance agreement is that, every two years, we come in and refresh all of your infrastructure. Whether it’s controllers, switches, routers, or software.”
The commission unanimously agreed to begin negotiations, but there’s no exact timeline of when implementation would begin.
The cost, which products are being purchased, and how many products being purchased could also change during the negotiation period.
Upgraded equipment for county public safety officials will have to be matched by those within the cities as well if proposed upgrades are pursued.