Oakland County to Replace Public Safety Communications System with P25 LMR
Oakland County will be the first user in Michigan to utilize Motorola Solutions’ “Phase 2” technology that will more than double the number of users on one system.
Oakland County is enhancing the safety of residents, guests and businesses by improving the ability of first responders to communicate with each other during emergencies, including seamless interoperability with neighboring counties as well as state and federal agencies, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced today.
The county has entered into a contract with Motorola Solutions to replace its aging public safety radio system with the ASTRO® 25 land-mobile radio (LMR) network which will interface with the statewide Michigan Public Safety Communication System (MPSCS). Oakland County will be the first user in Michigan to utilize Motorola Solutions’ “Phase 2” technology that will more than double the number of users on one system.
“Oakland County always pursues innovation to provide outstanding services to our residents and businesses,” Patterson said. “That’s why we collaborated with our cities, villages, and townships to identify and implement leading-edge communications technology that will improve public safety for years to come.”
Motorola Solutions Regional Vice President Chris Lonnett said his company will be working with Oakland County to take the county’s public safety communications to the next level.
“We’re ecstatic to work with Oakland County to provide them with mission-critical communication solutions for their first responders,” Lonnett said. “Oakland County has long been a role model for agencies working together to improve public safety. This will be a great step forward to improve regional communications interoperability.”
In addition to interoperability, the ASTRO® 25 land-mobile radio (LMR) network will provide Oakland County’s public safety departments countywide paging of fire fighters with new 700/800 MHz pagers.
“This new partnership with Motorola Solutions will launch Oakland County into a whole new level of emergency communications,” said Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard. “Technology is constantly changing and this investment will give our first responders the tools they need to serve our residents. Once again, Oakland County will set a standard for other counties to follow and emulate.”
Oakland County’s contract with Motorola Solutions requires one percent grade of service which means 99 out of 100 times the two-way radio system will be fully available to a first responder. Also, the contract requires the new radio system to cover 97 percent of the county outdoors and 95 percent of the county while in buildings. A 31-site simulcast system will help ensure Motorola Solutions provides reliable and dependable communications that will provide full-system capacity to every first responder in Oakland County.
"The idea that this new radio system will actually become a reality is extremely exciting,” said Farmington Hills Fire Chief Jon Unruh. “The communication system will give us capabilities we haven’t had before and enhance the service we provide to Oakland County residents while providing reliable and dependable communication for our first responders."
West Bloomfield Township Police Chief Michael Patton agrees.
“After a comprehensive evaluation process, the selection of a Motorola Solutions will provide enhanced mission-critical, push-to-talk radio communications to the next generation of Oakland County public safety members as well as greater interoperability with our state and federal public safety partners,” Patton said.
Both Patton and Unruh were members of the selection committee for Oakland County’s new communications system.
The $46.9 million project will replace more than 3,500 portable radios and about 2,000 radios in emergency vehicles with Motorola Solutions APX™ mobile and portable two-way radios for best-in-class communications for public safety officers. The radios are equipped with Wi-Fi and support wireless programming. Plus, the project will replace 76 radio consoles at the 20 Oakland County 911 public safety answering points or dispatch centers with new Motorola Solutions MCC 7500E dispatch consoles. These consoles will be tightly integrated with the existing Motorola Solutions CallWorks 911 platform which will maximize the capabilities for emergency call taking.
The system will be built with multiple layers of redundancy to withstand large-scale emergencies such as tornadoes or floods. The design includes 31 sites, 12 channels on the 700/800MHz, and will be built to Project 25 “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” compliance standards.
Oakland County’s Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS), which uses innovative computer technology for criminal justice and public safety applications, will utilize APX Radio Management to maintain and update the fleet of radios through a central database.
Implementing the complete ASTRO® 25 land-mobile radio (LMR) network will take up to three years. Over the next six months, Oakland County and Motorola Solutions will work together to design the 31-site system to submit to MPSCS for review.
