Motorola Solutions Inks P25 Network Upgrade for Jefferson Country
The Jefferson County Information Technology Services Department has upgraded its technology with a seven-year, $6.9 million contract with Motorola Solutions.
Motorola Solutions P25 Technology has now been implemented for all county offices, first responders, Jefferson County EMA and 911 centers, putting the county in sync with 65 partnering agencies across the county for interoperable communications, especially in times of a wide-scale natural disaster.
“Our IT Department collaborated with both the Jefferson County EMA, 911 center and Birmingham 911 departments to upgrade to this new technology, which now means all emergency responders are on the same system and should be able communicate seamlessly,” said Jefferson County Chief Information Officer, Sri Karra. “This new technology should dramatically improve communications for all involved in public safety, especially in disaster or emergency situations.”
The Motorola ASTRO 25 land-mobile network is built with multiple layers of resilience to withstand storms such as tornadoes, flooding and other natural disasters. Dispatchers at 10 different 911 call centers are now using Motorola Solutions MCC7500 dispatch consoles to connect directly with first responders and partner agencies. And more than 9,000 Motorola two-way radios are being used in partner agencies.
Use of the new system went into effect July 31, and the old system has been decommissioned.
The county will pay an annual payment of $985,714.26 during the contract, which began Feb. 2. Motorola Solutions has been a partner with both Jefferson County and the city of Birmingham for 20 years.
